Angus Bancroft is Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh.

"In this thoughtful journey through the obfuscations of drug narratives we learn that intoxication is after all an indelible aspect of ourselves."Sociology "[A] fascinating and nicely subversive dissection of a universal behaviour - well worth reading."Alcohol & Alcoholism“Interesting, provocative and highly readable - Bancroft provides a critical text that works as a useful antidote to the coverage of drugs in more cautious and conventional accounts.”Nigel South, University of Essex“Bancroft does an extraordinary job of reviewing the relevant literature and he makes excellent use of historical and cross-cultural examples in building a case for a contructionist understanding of drugs.”Robert Heiner, Plymouth State University

• AcknowledgementsPrefaceChapter 1: Defining Drugs in SocietyChapter 2: Drugs and Alcohol in Historical PerspectiveChapter 3: Customs, Cultures and Experience of IntoxicationChapter 4: Drug Problems, Abuses and AddictionChapter 5: Governing Drugs and their UsersChapter 6: Lifestyle Medicines and EnhancementChapter 7: Drugs in a Culture of IntoxicationBibliography

Angus Bancroft is Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh.

"In this thoughtful journey through the obfuscations of drug narratives we learn that intoxication is after all an indelible aspect of ourselves."Sociology "[A] fascinating and nicely subversive dissection of a universal behaviour - well worth reading."Alcohol & Alcoholism“Interesting, provocative and highly readable - Bancroft provides a critical text that works as a useful antidote to the coverage of drugs in more cautious and conventional accounts.”Nigel South, University of Essex“Bancroft does an extraordinary job of reviewing the relevant literature and he makes excellent use of historical and cross-cultural examples in building a case for a contructionist understanding of drugs.”Robert Heiner, Plymouth State University

• AcknowledgementsPrefaceChapter 1: Defining Drugs in SocietyChapter 2: Drugs and Alcohol in Historical PerspectiveChapter 3: Customs, Cultures and Experience of IntoxicationChapter 4: Drug Problems, Abuses and AddictionChapter 5: Governing Drugs and their UsersChapter 6: Lifestyle Medicines and EnhancementChapter 7: Drugs in a Culture of IntoxicationBibliography