Voluntary Action and Illegal Drugs: Health and Society in Britain since the 1960s

Illegal drug use has been seen as a major problem facing British society since at least the 1960s, but relatively little consideration has been given to the way in which ordinary citizens have sought to deal with its consequences. By setting up voluntary organisations, groups and individuals have attempted to offer a novel approach to drug use and its related problems. These organisations emphasised lobbying for change and new forms of service provision. Significantly, innovations in the drugs field often prefigured wider developments in voluntarism, in health and social care, and also in patient involvement. Drawing on extensive archival and interview-based research, this book treats the voluntary around drugs as a case study through which wider developments in the relationship between the state and civil society can be explored.