David F. Musto
| David Franklin Musto | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 8, 1936 Tacoma, Washington, United States |
| Died | October 8, 2010 (aged 74) Shanghai, China |
| Occupation | author, editor, |
| Nationality | American |
| Subject | Drug policy |
| Notable works | The American Disease: Origins of Narcotic Control |
| Spouse | Jeanne |
| Children | 1 daughter and 3 sons |
David Franklin Musto (January 8, 1936 – October 8, 2010) was an American expert on U.S. drug policy and the War on Drugs who served as a government adviser on the subject during the Presidency of Jimmy Carter. He wrote extensively on the history of licit and illicit drugs and the process by which many of them were placed under governmental control.
Musto was born January 8, 1936, in Tacoma, Washington and earned his undergraduate degree in classics from the University of Washington in 1956. He attended Yale University on a fellowship, earning a master's degree in the history of science and medicine in 1961. Musto earned his medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine, which was followed by an internship at Pennsylvania Hospital and a residency in psychiatry at Yale.
Musto first developed a focus on drug policy when he became special assistant to the director of the National Institute of Mental Health through the United States Public Health Service. He taught briefly at Johns Hopkins University and became a professor of child psychiatry at the Yale Child Study Center beginning in 1969, in addition to being a professor of the history of medicine at Yale School of Medicine. He was selected in 1973 as a presidential adviser on drug policy, and was named by Jimmy Carter in 1978 to serve on the White House Strategy Council on Drug Abuse. Musto was a supporter of methadone maintenance as a way of weaning heroin addicts from their addiction. He questioned the efficacy of employee drug testing and needle exchange programs. Musto was wary of government efforts to curb drug use, noting that efforts to control drugs arise "from repeated observation of the damage to acquaintances and society" but that a prevention effort "usually comes just after the popularity of drugs has peaked". By 1992 Musto believed that the cocaine epidemic in the U.S. had already hit its peak, but challenged the notion that legalization of cocaine and other drugs would curb their effects on society.
...
Wikipedia