Illicit drugs and their use are now, more than ever, a dominant concern of politicians, policy makers and the general public. Often, our understandings of the 'drug problem' tend to be uni-dimensional and based around particular areas of risk: risk of drug related crime, risk of dependency, risk of ill-health. This book moves beyond this single issue approach and locates illicit drug use in its wider context, with chapters on: the history of illicit drug use measuring the 'problem' legal and medical responses to illicit drug use the illicit drugs market drugs, crime and trends in drug policy Drawing information from wide-ranging sources, Adrian Barton illuminates the complex nature and broad impact illicit drug use carries in its wake and provides an overview of the contemporary state of the drug 'scene'. This book will be essential reading for students and researchers working in the area of drugs and society.