ABSTRACT
We have attempted to provide a bird’s-eye view of how heroin use developed over the last century. Heroin has not been suppressed but has become an unavoidable feature of modern life. Changes have been rapid, but we believe this century will produce much greater changes. New technology will make heroin use more acceptable to middle-class users. This is a process which is already starting to happen, as taboos against other drugs gradually crumble. It will become increasingly clear that the ‘war on drugs’ is a failure, although this will not stop some last frantic efforts. Mounting concern about international gangsterism and corruption will press governments to take action, eventually to take control of the drug trade themselves.
