This is a compelling legal and
social history of the origins and development of drug laws in Australia. It argues that the selective enactment of `drug' laws has been driven by fear, racism, powerful international pressures, and the vested interests of the medical profession,
bureaucrats and politicians, rather than by genuine concerns about the welfare of users. Behind the emotion and controversy that surround the use of illegal drugs lie previously unexamined assumptions about how and why certain substances - such as opium, heroin and
cannabis - have been prohibited, while others - such as alcohol and tobacco - have not. This book challenges these assumptions, while also examining the…
