Cocaine : global histories

This volume examines the rise and fall of cocaine. In the 19th century it was openly legal and legitimately used by scientists, medics and pharmaceutical manufacturers alike.

This contrasts starkly with the international prohibitionist regimes and drug gangs linked to cocaine today.

Themes explored include: Amsterdam's complex cocaine culture; the manufacture, sale and control of cocaine in the United States; Japan and the Southeast Asian cociane industry; export of cocaine prohibitions to Peru; and sex, drugs and race in early modern London.

The book unveils primary sources and covert social, cultural and political transformations to shed light on cocaine's hidden history.