Acknowledgements
Notes on the contributors
List of abbreviations

Introduction

1 Heroin today: cmmnodity, consumption, control and care, ISDD Research and Development Unit
Origins of heroin
Avajlability
The range of effects sought by users
Patterns of use and their consequences
Overdoses
Criminality and heroin
Health and welfare responses
A new balance of control policies

2 The war on heroin: British policy and the international trade in illicit drugs, Gerry Samson
The medico-centrism of British policy
The heroin market
Law and order and the 'war on drugs'
The effectiveness of the law enforcement response
Policy options — the issues and the questions

3 Social deprivation, unemployment and patterns of heroin use, Geoffrey Pearson
Some initial confusions and complexities
Neighbourhood studies: unemployment, housing and heroin
Activity or passivity? Messages from North America
Life on the dole: killing time and creating meaning

4 How families and communities respond to heroin, Martin Donoghoe, Nicholas Dom, Christine James, Stephen Jones, Jane Ribbens and Nigel South
A town lies in wait
Case study: a problem in the family
Parents drawing upon the resources of the 'parent movement'
Public activism as a context for parental care
State and professional initiatives
Conclusion

5 From treatment to rehabilitation — aspects of the evolution of British policy on the care of drug-takers, Susanne MacGregor and Betsy Ettorre
How serious is the drugs problem in Britain?
Treating heroin addicts: the development of the 'British system'
The emergence of rehabilitation as an adjunct to treatment
Current government strategy and the Central Funding Initiative (CFI)
Criticism of existing services
A pragmatic approach: a full response linked with the awareness of gender and race
Conclusion

6 Reconciling policy and practice, Nicholas Dom and Nigel South
The stances of the political parties
A framework for policy at local, national and international levels
Grassroots strategies: learning from experience
Innovative national or local strategies to reduce drug distribution
Contradictions at the international level: tackling the problem at source?

Bibliography