White Drug Cultures and Regulation in London, 1916-1960

by Christopher Hallam

Overview

This book traces the history of the London ‘white drugs’ (opiate and cocaine) subculture from the First World War to the end of the classic ‘British System’ of drug prescribing in the 1960s. It also examines the regulatory forces that tried to suppress non-medical drug use, in both their medical and juridical forms. Drugs subcultures were previously thought to have begun as part of the post-war youth culture, but in fact they existed from at least the 1930s. In this book, two networks of drug users are explored, one emerging from the disaffected youth of the arisracy, the other from the night-time economy of London’s West End. Their drug use was caught up in a kind of dance whose steps represented cultural conflicts over identity and the modernism and Victorianism that coexisted in interwar Britain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030069131
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	12/28/2018
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2018
Pages:	249
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

Christopher Hallam is a Research Associate at the Global Drug Policy Observatory, Swansea University, UK.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction.- 2 From injudicious prescribing to the script doctor: transgressive addiction treatment in the interwar years.- 3 The Chelsea network and white drug use in the 1930s.- 4 Heroin and the West End life, 1935-1938.- 5 The regulation of opiates under the classic British System, 1920-1945.- 6 The Royal College of Physicians Committee on Drug Addiction, 1938-1947.- 7 Morphine and morale: the British System and the Second World War.- 8 Postwar Britain: subcultural transitions and transmissions.- 9 Conclusions.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Hallam's study is a model of original research that will force historians to rethink the “British system” of drugs control in the twentieth century and shows just how often it was contested and challenged.” (Professor James Mills, CSHHH Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, UK)

“This book fills a gap in the historiography between the 1920s and the 1960s and is unique as the roles of the regulators, suppliers and consumers are explored together. It is well-structured, carefully referenced and beautifully written. It was an absolute pleasure to read!” (Dr Karen Duke, Middlesex University, UK)