Conclusions

Psychoactive drugs have long been a companion to most if not all human societies. Medicinal drugs and recreational ones alike have been used lo shape health and consciousness for better or worse in essentially every historical moment and geographical locale. Both plant-based drugs and more recent synthetic creations have received tremendous scrutiny in the modern world, notably from the media, academics, government agencies and policy officials. As the chapters in this book demonstrate, drugs are far more than simply a set of biochemical stimulants. Rather, they are deeply embedded in varying historical contexts, cultural norms and legal practices. Moreover, drugs are also profoundly spatial: the production, transportation, exchange and consumption of drugs of various sorts speak volumes about local differences in social values, beliefs and practices concerning drugs, let alone how the state monitors and regulates their use.