This volume investigates the long-term historical origins and global transformations of illicit substances to explain their current status in modern society. Edited by Paul Gootenberg, a prominent historian of Latin American drug trade and policy, the collection synthesizes contributions from thirty-five international scholars. The text employs a comparative, transnational framework to analyze how substances like cannabis, heroin, and cocaine evolved from local commodities into global objects of prohibition and regulation.

Scholars and historians frequently cite this work as a foundational reference for understanding the global trajectory of drug regulation. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which is tailored for researchers and students of history and social policy.