Two issues are addressed. First, why Sweden appears to have the world's most severe problem of intravenous amphetamine use and, second, why Japan, a country in many ways similar to Sweden, was readily able to bring its amphetamine epidemic under control during the same period that measures in Sweden accomplished little, if anything, to achieve this goal. Epidemiological information is provided about drug use patterns in Sweden, and it is suggested that amphetamines produce states congruent with the cultural imperatives and personal traits prevalent in Sweden. The Japanese success, it is suggested, was a function of a unilateral, unequivocating (though not necessarily admirable) campaign in contrast to the ambivalence that marks the situation in Sweden.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Institute of Public Opinion1971The Gallup Poll. Princeton, N.J. January 16.
2.
BayleyDavidH.1976Forces of Order: Police Behavior in Japan and the United States. Berkeley: University of California Press.
3.
BejerotNils1970Addiction and Society. Springfield, Ill.: Thomas.
4.
BejerotNils1969“Intravenous Drug Abuse in the Arrest Population in Stockholm: Frequency Studies,” Pp. 235–249, In FolkeSjöqvistTottieMalcolm, eds., Abuse of Central Stimulants. New York: Raven Press.
5.
BellowSaul1976To Jerusalem and Back. New York: Viking Press.
6.
BrecherEdwardM.1972Licit and Illicit Drugs. Boston, Little, Brown.
7.
BrillHenryHiroseTetsuya1969“The Rise and Fall of a Methamphetamine Epidemic: Japan 1945–55.”Seminars in Psychiatry1(2): 179–194.
8.
BultenaLouis1971Deviant Behavior in Sweden. New York: Exposition Press.
9.
Department of Education, Stockholm1969Om Sexuallivet i Sverige. SOU1969:2.
10.
ElliottNeil1970Sensuality in Scandinavia. New York: Weybright and Talley.
11.
ErikssonTorsten1976“Varför $Är Japan Sa Laglydigt?”Bra Appropa (1): 14–18.
12.
FiddleSeymour1968“Circles Beyond the Circumference: Some Hunches about Amphetamine Abuse.” pp. 66–87 In RussoJ. Robert, Ed., Amphetamine Abuse. Springfield, Ill.: Thomas.
13.
GlaserDanielJamesW. BrownWaxerElaineGeisGilbert1974“Turning Off: Cessation of Marijuana Use After College.”Social Problems21(April):527–538.
14.
GoldbergLeonard1968“Drug Abuse in Sweden.”Bulletin on Narcotics20(Jan.-Mar.):1–31.
15.
GraboskyPeterN.PerssonLeifSperlingsSven1977“Stockholm: The Politics of Crime and Conflict, 1950 to the 1970's,” Pp. 217–322 in Ted Robert GurrPeterN. GraboskyRichardC. Hula, The Politics of Crime and Conflict: A Comparative History of Four Cities. Beverly Hills, Cal.: Sage.
16.
GrinspoonLesterHedblomPeter1975The Speed Culture. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
17.
GrovesEugene1972National Survey of Drug Use on College Campuses. Final Report, NIMH Grant DA-00156.
18.
HallströmBirgittaOlssonOrvar1977“Undomars Erfarenhet av Narkotica,”Bra Appropa (1):3–7, 13.
19.
HemmiTakemitsu1969“How We Have Handled the Problem of Drug Abuse in Japan,” pp. 147–163 In SjöqvistTottie, eds., Abuse of Central Stimulants. New York: Raven Press.
20.
HuntfordRoland1971The New Totalitarians. New York: Stein and Day.
21.
IngheGunnar1969“The Present State of Abuse and Addiction to Stimulant Drugs in Sweden.” pp. 187–214 In SjöqvistTottie, eds., Abuse of Central Stimulants.
22.
KällbergSture1972Off the Middle Way: Report From a Swedish Village. New York: Pantheon.
23.
KramerJohnC.VitezslavS. FischmanDonC. Littlefield1967“Amphetamine Abuse: Pattern and Effects of High Doses Taken Intravenously,”Journal of the American Medical Association201(July 31):305–309.
24.
LasagnaLouisVon FelsingerJ. M.HenryK. Beecher1955“Drug-Induced Mood Changes in Man: 1. Observations on Healthy Subjects, Chronically Ill Patients, and ‘Postaddicts,’”Journal of the American Medical Association157(Apr. 20):1006–1020.
25.
MilkmanHarveyWilliamA. Frosch1973“On the Preferential Abuse of Heroin and Amphetamines,”Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases156(April):242–248.
26.
National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse in America1972Drug Use in America: Problem in Perspective. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
New York Times (AP) 1977“Sweden is Aroused by Ethnic Problems.” (July 24).
29.
O'DonnelJohnHarwinL. VossRichardR. ClaytonGeraldT. SlatinRobinG. W. Room1976Young Men and Drugs—A Nationwide Survey. Rockville, Md.: National Institute on Drug Abuse.
30.
RosenthalAlbert1967The Social Programs of Sweden. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
31.
RylanderGösta1969“Clinical and Medico-Criminological Aspects of Addiction to Central Stimulant Drugs.” pp. 251–273 In SjöqvistTottie, eds., Abuse of Central Stimulants.
32.
SchiffMartin1976“Sweden's Social Welfare System.”Current History61(April):149–154.
33.
SeveroRichard1970“Drug Problem in Sweden is Similar to that in U.S.”New York Times (April 10).
34.
SjöqvistFolkeTottieMalcolm, eds. 1969Abuse of Central Stimulants. New York: Raven Press.
35.
SmartReginaldG.1976“Effects of Legal Restraint on the Use of Drugs: A Review of Empirical Studies.”Bulletin on Narcotics28(Jan.-Mar.):55–65.
