'This book is without doubt the most scholarly and significant contribution to what has become a passionate but circular debate … overall this is an experts' expert book and it is likely to become the classic text on drug policy reform.' British Medical Journal

• 1. Preface and overview; 2. Drug prohibition: American style; 3. The debate; 4. Philosophical underpinnings; 5. How does prohibition affect drug use?; 6. How does prohibition affect drug harms?; 7. Other vices: prostitution and gambling; 8. Other substances: alcohol and cigarettes; 9. US experience with legal cocaine and heroin; 10. Learning from European experiences; 11. Cannabis policies in the Netherlands; 12. Harm reduction in Europe; 13. Summary of the evidence and a framework for assessment; 14. Projecting the consequences of alternative regimes; 15. Obstacles to moving beyond the drug war.

'This book is without doubt the most scholarly and significant contribution to what has become a passionate but circular debate … overall this is an experts' expert book and it is likely to become the classic text on drug policy reform.' British Medical Journal

• 1. Preface and overview; 2. Drug prohibition: American style; 3. The debate; 4. Philosophical underpinnings; 5. How does prohibition affect drug use?; 6. How does prohibition affect drug harms?; 7. Other vices: prostitution and gambling; 8. Other substances: alcohol and cigarettes; 9. US experience with legal cocaine and heroin; 10. Learning from European experiences; 11. Cannabis policies in the Netherlands; 12. Harm reduction in Europe; 13. Summary of the evidence and a framework for assessment; 14. Projecting the consequences of alternative regimes; 15. Obstacles to moving beyond the drug war.

'This book is without doubt the most scholarly and significant contribution to what has become a passionate but circular debate … overall this is an experts' expert book and it is likely to become the classic text on drug policy reform.' British Medical Journal

• 1. Preface and overview; 2. Drug prohibition: American style; 3. The debate; 4. Philosophical underpinnings; 5. How does prohibition affect drug use?; 6. How does prohibition affect drug harms?; 7. Other vices: prostitution and gambling; 8. Other substances: alcohol and cigarettes; 9. US experience with legal cocaine and heroin; 10. Learning from European experiences; 11. Cannabis policies in the Netherlands; 12. Harm reduction in Europe; 13. Summary of the evidence and a framework for assessment; 14. Projecting the consequences of alternative regimes; 15. Obstacles to moving beyond the drug war.