Addressing drug use and abuse as a global phenomenon, this text draws on contemporary and international research findings to examine the causes of drug use in different countries and to explore different policy responses to its prevention and treatment. It is an invaluable resource for students, practitioners and anyone concerned with drug use. Understanding Drug Use and Abuse: A Global Perspective is an ambitious text that covers a lot of pertinent issues ranging from the historical development of drug policy to the physiology of drug use ? Understanding Drug Use and Abuse is definitely a student text that explains many of the taken-for-granted assumptions often evident in other books on drugs ? The book is well written and is a good text for both students and academics alike.