ABSTRACT
Issues around drugs are always crossing from local to global, from national to transnational. This is also valid for concepts of how to handle drugs which were categorised as dangerous to consumers and/or societies. For more than half a century, 185 nations agreed to prohibit the trade and use of a number of so-called dangerous or narcotic drugs. As a consequence, dealers of such drugs as well as users were criminalised and – when caught by police – went to prison. This chapter tries to outline the transformation of the concept of prohibition into a concept of harm reduction which addresses the demands of users/addicts in a way which helps them survive and reintegrate into society.
