To better understand the frequent failures to achieve the drug policy goals of supply and demand reduction, we need more clarity about the motives and mechanisms of drug use and drug dealing. Much of the emphasis in social and political discourse, and in research publications, is on the pains that drug users may experience in the form of physical and mental health problems, social exclusion and marginalisation.
This book, which concentrates on Europe, does not overlook these issues, but the contributors also try to understand the pleasures that drug users are seeking from drugs, such as the positive psychoactive effects they feel, the positive meanings they attach to drugs and the interventions made to improve their quality of life. The profits that accrue from the drugs trade (dealing and production) are also examined – not only the economic profits, but also the more intangible or social rewards obtained from these activities.