Author: New Books Network Book of the Day
Benjamin Y. Fong is author of the new book Quick Fixes: Drugs in America from Prohibition to the 21st Century Binge (https://bookshop.org/a/12343/9781804290170) , which was just released in July, 2023 by Verso Books. Ben is an honors faculty fellow and associate director of the Center for Work & Democracy at Arizona State University, and his work has appeared in Jacobin, Catalyst, and the New York Times. Previously, Ben’s work focused on the (usually negative) effects of neoliberal capitalism, writing about NGOs (https://catalyst-journal.com/2021/05/ngoism-the-politics-of-the-third-sector) , labor leaders (https://jacobin.com/2023/03/john-brophy-cio-john-lewis-labor-leader-history-socialism) , and health care (https://jacobin.com/2020/04/economic-recovery-coronavirus-crisis-health-care) . Quick Fixes expands this examination into the world of drugs, examining nine different kinds of intoxicants, and…
Cannabis “legalization” hasn’t lived up to the hype. Across North America, investors are reeling, tax collections are below projections, and people are pointing fingers. On the business side, companies have shut down, farms have failed, workers have lost their jobs, and consumers face high prices. Why has legal weed failed to deliver on many of its promises? Can Legal Weed Win?: The Blunt Realities of Cannabis Economics (https://bookshop.org/a/12343/9780520383265) (U California Press, 2022) takes on the euphoric claims with straight dope and a full dose of economic reality. This book delivers the unadulterated facts about the new legal segment of one of…