Includes bibliographical references.

Types of drugs and patterns of use. What Is a drug/medicine? ; Preva lence and trends in illicit drug use ; Why do people take drugs? ; Addi ction ; Legal drugs : alcohol and tobacco ; Polydrug use/polysubstance use ; Common illicit drugs ; Typologies of drug use : use-misuse-abuse and problematic-recreational use ; Binge-drinking ; Raves and circuit p arties ; Dance drugs/club drugs ; Cross-cultural and traditional drug u se ; Gender, ethnicity and social class ; Normalisation. -- Drug effect s. Drug effects : drug, set and setting ; Medical marijuana and other t herapeutic uses of illicit drugs ; Prescribed and over-the-counter (OTC ) drugs ; Novel psychoactive substances ; The gateway hypothesis/steppi ng stone theory ; Drug-related violence ; Drugs and crime ; Drug risks and health harms ; Injecting drug use ; HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne viruses. -- Drug policy, treatment and perceptions of the drug problem. Drug treatment and quasi-compulsory treatment ; Harm reduction ; Subst itute prescribing ; The new recovery approach ; Prevention : primary, s econdary and tertiary ; International drug control history/prohibition ; Drugs in sport ; Drug scares and moral panics ; Drug dealers ; Drug m arkets : difference and diversity ; Drug trafficking ; Crop eradication , crop substitution and legal cultivation ; War on drugs ; Drug testing in schools and workplaces ; Drug courts ; Decriminalisation, legalisat ion and legal regulation ; Liberalisation.

"Insightful and illuminating, this book successfully discusses drugs in social contexts. In an elegant manner, the authors bring together t heir different theoretical and practical backgrounds, offering a compre hensive and interdisciplinary introduction that opens up a wide scienti fic understanding moving beyond cultural myths and presuppositions. Thi s is an invaluable reference source for students on criminology, sociol ogy and social sciences programmes, as well as drug service practitione rs such as drug workers, social workers and specialist nurses"--Publish er's website.