The production, sale and possession of some drugs is criminalized – but why? And why, despite vast resources and budgets, have international efforts to control them so consistently failed?

Julia Buxton looks at how our current drug control regime came about from the first US-driven international meeting on drug control in the early 20th century and the ideologies behind it. She also charts the evolution of today’s drugs market, looking at where drugs are produced and consumed, giving voice to those who get caught up in this world.

Ultimately she asks: if the current strategy isn’t working, what should replace it?