INTRODUCTORY NOTE

In recent years it has become sociologically axiomatic to insist that deviant behaviour cannot be studied in isolation from the formal and informal mechanisms which are adopted for control-ling it. Highlighted in the work of such writers as Lindesmith, Schur, Becker, Duster and, more recently, Young, this broader approach as nowhere been more prominent than in the study of drug taking. Thus, while public debates about the 'drugs problem' are still frequently conducted without appreciation of the complex interaction between deviance and control, there is a growing body of sociological thought which stresses, among other things, the relevance of the sociology of law to our understanding of such phenomena.

In discussing both drug takers and mechanisms of control, this book is firmly located in the latter tradition. Bean exhibits a confident grasp of his subject and conveys a convincing picture of the historical development and present operation of the control system. His examination of the medical profession's role both as moral entrepreneur and controller is particularly useful, under-scoring the need for studies in the sociology of law to avoid neglect of these less visible indirect and complementary agencies of social control.

While much of Bean's data is drawn from British sources, there is little doubt that his approach and findings are relevant to the situation in other countries; indeed one of the most interesting parts of the book is concerned with the impact upon domestic controls of decisions taken at international level. By stressing the influence of formal international definitions upon law-making and enforcement in the national arena, he shows that there are sometimes pressures which cut across the localised processes involved in the structuring of formal control. It is not just in obvious contexts such as economic franchising, cartels and multi-national companies that the defining role of inter-national co-operation may be a vital one.

This book is a useful addition to the growing literature in the sociology of law. It is only by filling the gap left by a comparative dearth of detailed case studies that the subject can provide the empirical data to match its increasing theoretical pretentions.

C.M.C.
W.G.C.
P.N.P.W.