'The straight glass pipe filled with ethereal white smoke. It was thick enough to see that it could be a good hit. The smoker closed his eyes and lay back in the battered leather office chair. Eventually he exhaled, a serene smile on his face, his eyes closed to savour the bliss.
Fifteen minutes later, the computer signalled that another hit was available. 'No thanks, doc,' he said, raising his left hand slightly. He hit the space bar on the Mac in the way that he'd been trained to press to signal his choice.
Although I couldn't know for sure whether he was getting cocaine or a placebo, I knew the experiment was going well . . . '
High Price is the absorbing, inspiring memoir of Carl Hart, who grew up in one of Miami's toughest hoods. Today he is a cutting-edge neuroscientist whose landmark, controversial research is redefining our understanding of addiction.
In this provocative memoir, Dr Hart tells his story of self-discovery: how he escaped a life of crime and drugs, and avoided becoming one of the crack addicts he now studies. Hart unmasks the relationship between drugs and pleasure, choice, and motivation. His findings revolutionise our ideas about drugs, race and our minds
