Go Ask Alice, Book Review Example

Teen drug use and abuse is a concern for all parents. Go Ask Alice is written anonymously by a 15 year old high school girl who becomes addicted to various drugs and lives a life of heartache and hardship with attempts and failures to get off of drugs and stay clean. This first personal account of the horrors of drug addiction is a bestselling nonfiction book. Go Ask Alice was first published in the year 1971. Drug use and teen addiction has prevailed throughout the years; from then until today with the same basic relevance towards keeping teens from falling into the trap of slavery to drugs.

Review

Although it has been assumed that Alice is the girl writing the diary, her name is never actually given. The diarist is a high school who at the age of 15 has many worries and concerns over herself in general. She worries over friendships, peer pressure, body image and grades. She is unknowingly given LSD at a party.  This sets up a constant battle that she will deal with throughout the book. The LSD was a positive experience for her but she has anguish over the guilt of having taken a drug.

The diarist keeps a journal of the events which demonstrates her continued promise to herself not to do drugs anymore, to the pull of the drug and the acceptance she experiences with other drug users. She becomes dissatisfied in general with the changes she goes through and uses drugs to help deal with her problems. She displays ambivalence with her decisions and goes back and forth between the ‘straight’ friends she has and the ‘addict’ friends.  She deals with people who use and abuse her emotionally and physically. She attempts to regain her old life back by attempts to return to her family and restart school. But the allure of the drugs and her old friends seem to continually pull her back into the lifestyle of drug use.

As was her first dose, her last dose of drugs was also given to her without her knowledge. Candy laced with LSD was given to her and caused hallucinations. “It sounds incredible that the first time I took drugs and the last time which landed me in an insane asylum were both given to me without my knowledge” (page 177). A reoccurring theme throughout the diary is one of confusion as to who the diarist can believe is not going to harm her and her inner struggle with doing drugs.

Historical Events

Drug Abuse Prevention

In June, 1971 President Nixon declared “America’s Public Enemy No. 1 is drug abuse” (Drug Library) and requested the creation of a program to address the problem. He recognized the many problems associated with drug abuse and addiction. It creates the need for funding for individuals who need rehabilitation and medical assistance; particularly for those without insurance. Since the abuse of drugs reaches into all levels of society, the need to limit the legal use as well as street use was fundamental in controlling crime and society problems.

President Nixon’s proposal was a centralized form of organization to monitor drug use and abuse. This branch was called the Special Action Office of Drug Abuse Prevention. This Office provided strengthened Federal leadership in finding solutions to drug abuse problems. It established priorities and instilled a sense of urgency in Federal and federally-supported drug abuse programs, and increased coordination between Federal, State, and local rehabilitation efforts (Memo to Congress).

President Nixon realized drug abuse could not be conquered but rather controlled and continual preventative measures taken. He felt placing tighter restrictions on imports with tighter levels of accountability would be a measure for prevention. He saw how drug abuse hurt individuals, families, and communities. His goal with this project was to help individuals’ already in need and to set measures in place to help keep drug dealing and use at lower levels. He felt this was a moral obligation to help Americans of all ages.

Restricting Use

In 1972 the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs began lobbying for restrictive use of barbiturates in prescription drugs. This was considered to be “more dangerous than heroin” (Drug Library). This organization was later renamed to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).  This organization is responsible for preventing illicit drug traffic in controlled substances. They also monitor the legal manufacturing and distribution of controlled substance drugs for prescription and medical reasons.

Illicit drug trade is a problem which touches various entities including underground markets, street gangs, drug users and sellers. Drug trade is done by all levels of society from the street sales to organized crime. The DEA is charged with uncovering all forms of illegal trade and use.

Agents in the DEA will investigate drug trafficking and enforce the Controlled Substance Act which is aimed at the manufacturing and distribution of legal controlled substances. They work with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies on cases of abuse. They also work with other countries on international drug rings and programs for prevention.

Woodstock

In 1969 Woodstock, an outdoor music festival, helped the era of drug use and ‘free love’ begin. Held on a farm the event had more attendees than originally thought. After the assignation of President Kennedy and the Vietnam war, people were ready to let go of past hardships and live again. Taking drugs was widely accepted by most young adults. Using drugs was seen as promoting peace and love. Woodstock was a time for trying various drugs, experimenting with substances and becoming closer as a community.

Individuals who participated in Woodstock and the type of lifestyle this created were referred to as hippies. It was a generalization that all hippies did drugs. The persona was drugs were good for the mind and allowed people to live the way they wanted. It defined the culture and glamorized drug use. Drug addiction was not talked about or considered as a possibility. It was considered open-minded and free. Psychedelic drugs were used without the understanding of how dangerous and addicting they can be.

Glenn Weiser attended Woodstock and states on his web page that he “was just as high as the next kid in the crowd – so I’m quite candid about my use of acid and pot at the concert.” He gives a detailed account of the weekend and drug use. Woodstock holds a lot of memories for society and drug use is a stigma of that era.

Beatles

The Beatles brought about a new era of music when they came to America in the early 1960’s. In 1970 they began their very long breakup. During their years as musicians they were honest about drug experimentation. Sir Paul McCartney revealed in interviews that the Beatles used large quantities of drugs and admitted that some songs were inspired during their drug use (Angryape).

It has been widely surmised that musicians use drugs to help their creativity; and many have admitted to it along with the Beatles. Many songs have been written about the positive and negative effects of drug use and musicians. Often drug use in celebrities is overlooked and society chooses to see it as harmless. Although the list of famous people who have died with drug overdoses continues to grow throughout the years. Musicians in the 1960’s reportedly used LSD, heroin, cocaine, mescaline and PCP, nitrous oxide and mushrooms (With A . . . Friends).

Eric Clapton, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, and the Allman Brothers Band are a few of the musicians who wrote songs about drugs and admit to using during their careers. Rock and Roll genre seems to have the most drug use reports. Many deaths of musicians can be attributed to drug use. A lot of these also involved the use of alcohol along with drugs which further made the situation dangerous.

Vietnam War

A lot of Vietnam war soldiers used drugs to help deal with their situation. Marijuana, amphetamines, opium and heroin were used in the war and the habits developed with drug use remained with the men as they returned home. It was estimated that 50 percent of the soldiers used drugs, with marijuana being the drug of choice.

Marijuana was readily available in Vietnam and there were no real drug laws enforced. It was considered a part of their culture. The use of marijuana by the soldiers preempted use in America. However, is caught using the drug the solider could be court marshaled and put in jail. As time went on and the unavailability of lab testing, the Army began to ignore the drug use.

Upon returning home, soldiers continued to use drugs. Although the army attempted to provide resources and programs to stop drug use, it failed. Some men came back addicted, others continued to use drugs and the addiction came after returning home. The trauma of life in Vietnam was considered the contributing factor and most of these men would never have started using if they had not been sent to fight.

Conclusion

The events described above continue to be relevant today in many ways. The era of time around the book Go Ask Alice is heavy with drug use and the consequences of drug use and addition.  Drug abuse prevention and restriction of use continues to be issues which the government and law makers investigate. The social and legal problems associated with drug use and abuse is widely discussed and the attempts in the past of the law makers to help the situation are important in understanding the restrictions of laws and underground trade.

Musicians have watched through the years as their friends either gets addicted to drugs or completely discontinue use is still prevalent today. Some of the musicians who used drugs it the past now advocate sobriety and support drug rehabilitation programs. Although musicians as a whole still use drugs, the events of the past including the Beatles and Woodstock provide a history for learning today.

The Vietnam War was brutal and left a large historical score for generations to come. The drug use by the soldiers is a lesson for what happens to individuals placed in hardships beyond their control. The abuse of drugs and little means of monitoring it from an administrative and leadership stance is an example for implementing guidelines and ways to monitor soldier activity.

Works Cited

Anonymous. Go Ask Alice. New York: Simon Pulse, 1971. Print.

Anonymous, “With a Little Help from my Friends”. Roman. November 7, 2009 <http://users.rowan.edu/~lindman/hippiesndrugs.html>.

Drug Library, “A Summary of Historical Events”. Sober College. November 7, 2009 <http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/histsum.htm>.

Memo to Congress, “Richard Nixon”. The American Presidency Project. November 7, 2009 <http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=3048>.

Weiser, Glenn. “Woodstock 1969 Remembered”. Personal Web Page. November 7, 2009 <http://www.celticguitarmusic.com/woodstock.htm>.

“Paul McCartney Talks about Heavy Drug Use”. Angryape. November 7, 2009 <http://angryape.com/news/paul-mccartney-talks-beatles-heavy-drug-use>.