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The purpose of this paper is to estimate the demand and supply of opiates in the USA during the period 1870–1914 when the market was virtually unregulated.

The price and quantity of opiates is econometrically estimated using a data set constructed primarily from pharmaceutical trade journals.

Per capita opiate consumption varies in inverse proportion to its price, a price elasticity of demand of unity. The supply of opiates to the USA is perfectly elastic, a horizontal line, implying the USA was a “price-taker” in the world market for opium. The number of medical schools, a proxy for the state of medical science, significantly effects opiate consumption, as does the import tariff on opium.

Opiate use, both medicinal and addictive, is highly responsive to purely the economic forces of price and income. The influential role of the medical profession in shaping the pattern of consumption is confirmed. Data limitations prevent making substantive statements about usage of the various sub-categories of opium, requiring all opium to be treated as equivalent units of morphine sulfate.

Decriminalized access to opiates and other addictive substances is likely to result in a significant increase in usage, which could be controlled by taxation.

Prior studies of unregulated opiate demand and supply have covered Indonesia and Taiwan under colonial government monopoly, not a major western country user like the USA. Also, this paper uses a newly created consistent set of inflation-adjusted opiate prices covering a long period (1870–1914).

As the clamour within the drug treatment field in the UK – and throughout much of Europe – increases, leading agencies are arguing for a review of the current legislation and a change in focus away from criminal justice and towards a more public health understanding of addiction. Therapeutic communities have found themselves united with many drug users-led campaigns to argue for a wholesale restructuring of the legislative, policy and funding arrangements which recognises the role of recovery-oriented interventions within the mix. Given these on-going debates, it is perhaps useful to understand how the current arrangements were established [1].

In 1850s, the sale of opium – like alcohol – was largely unregulated. It was widely used, in a variety of preparations, by all classes for medical and non-medical purposes. A pennyworth of opium was as likely (perhaps more likely) as a pound of potatoes to find its way into the weekly shopping basket.

By the 1920s, the Fu Manchu novels of Sax Rohmer – with their tales of innocent English virgins being seduced into crime and sexual perversion by an evil Chinese genius who lurked within the opium dens of Edwardian Britain – had redefined opium as a drug of the outside, the deadly, an agent in the enslavement of innocence.

This dramatic change was largely brought about by the introduction of an array of new medications and a move away from traditional “herbal” remedies. This change was accelerated by the experiences of the First World War and underpinned by the print media and laid the foundations of the legislation and policy of the present day.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the current approach that the Thai Government has employed to manage “wicked problems,” using the case of opium in northern Thailand, and analyzing how the network governance approach can contribute to sustainable upland community development.

A case study was employed for this research. The data collection was based upon a qualitative research approach, namely in-depth interviews, participatory observation and document research, were all conducted.

The study found that the strategy of the Thai Government to manage the opium problem in the upland periphery has changed over time. The recent approach could be illustrated as a form of network governance albeit solely within the governmental realm, which was found to be different from the network governance stratagem currently defined in the dominant literature. This paper suggests that in order to achieve a sustainable solution for upland community development, the mode of network governance should shift toward self-governing networks. In other words, non-state stakeholders should be actively engaged in the network and empowered to manage their problems for sustainable upland community development.

This paper contributes to the current corpus of network governance literature by introducing an empirical case study from Thailand. In terms of policy implication, this paper provides policy suggestions for governments, especially in Asia, who are actively seeking to resolve “wicked problems” and achieving sustainable community development.

States in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have historically leaned towards conservative, reactionary models of drugs policy. The combination of authoritarian forms of government, whether dynastic monarchies (Morocco, Jordan and Persian Gulf countries), semi-military republics (Syria, Egypt and Algeria) or religiously sanctioned republics (Iran), with the strong influence of Islamic law and norms, has signified that the region has enforced strict forms of drug prohibitions. For that matter, the region is home to cultural and social norms that are less permissive than in other regions of the world: for instance, with regard to premarital sex, homosexuality, clothing, alcoholic drinks and freedom of expression. This image of the MENA region is often overplayed by media commentators and Western scholars, especially in the field of drugs policy. The almost total absence of studies of drugs policy or drugs history in the MENA, excluding works in epidemiology, speaks well about the oblivion to which the region has been relegated over the last decades. The chapter provides first a background on the main questions regarding MENA drugs policy, looking at the historical developments in drug regulations and drug trends. Then, it discusses the current policies that operate across the region and, if pertinent, the prospects of policy development. When necessary, the argument refers to contextual elements that have influenced the direction in national and transitional drugs policy. Conscious of the fact that the MENA is as vast and diverse as a continent, I have opted to focus on three paradigmatic cases (Iran, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia), which provide an adequate geographical and thematic coverage of the MENA drugs policy. The three cases cover different aspects of today’s MENA drugs policy spectrum, from draconian repressive measures to progressive harm reduction programmes. Taken in their geographical dimension one can appreciate the variety and difference that exists within the MENA region, therefore supporting one of the key objectives of this chapter, which is to provide a nuanced analysis of drugs policy against the grain of homogenising and culturally reductive approaches.

While drugs services in the UK are busy with dangerous drugs such as crack and heroin, few are aware of the problems being faced by UK opium users. In this special report Hossein Sharifi uncovers the growing world of opium use in the UK and exposes the lack of appropriate care for this oldest of addictions.

This chapter outlines the co-operative possibilities that may occur between terrorists and organised criminals. It focuses specifically on the decision making processes of organised criminals, outlining the factors that affect any decision they may make that involves a move to assist those engaged in terrorism, the ‘initial nexus’. It accomplishes this with specific reference to the perceived entrepreneurial aspects of organised crime, using the work of Baumol specifically, but also expanding the scope of the criminal’s considerations of ‘profit’ beyond simply financial gain.

A literature review and potential model of the decision making processes of organised criminals working within an initial nexus relationship is presented, supported by a range of opinions.

We suggest a number of factors that affect organised criminals decision making process when co-operating with terrorists for profit. These factors include: the nuances of criminal cultures, the use of calculated deception, cultural affinity and geographical distance from spheres of operation.

In the main the chapter presents the decision making processes of organised criminal income generation through those involved in academia and law enforcement. However, there is an acknowledgement of the need to gather the views of those involved in organised crime, and an outline of potential methods of research to achieve this.

It highlights this under-researched area to both academic and law enforcement professionals. Suggestions regarding potential areas of policy focus to interrupt initial nexus relationships are made.

Provides an insight into this under-researched area, and may affect the perception of criminal decision making processes for academics, law enforcement professionals and the public at large.

The model presented is a means by which the potential for more accurate assessment of criminal action and associated risk calculation can be predicted.

Women are increasingly involved in a range of drug supply activities, but their role is overlooked in scholarship and policy processes. Women are key actors in plant cultivation (opium poppy, coca and cannabis), trafficking and distribution, but roles in the illegal drug economy are highly gendered stratified. Women most usually occupy low levels in supply and distribution chains, with their access to markets mediated by men. Nevertheless, participation by women in drug supply enables them to support precarious household incomes and/or cover the costs of dependent or casual drug use. More women are coming into drug supply and use at a time when a number of countries are adopting more repressive and punitive drug policies. The impact of enforcement is a sharp increase in numbers of incarcerated women, with implications for care of families and children.