The Control of Fuddle and Flash

The Control of Fuddle and Flash: A Sociological History of the Regulation of Alcohol and Opiates provides a historical and comparative overview describing the regulation of the use of alcohol and drugs (opiates) in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It explains the conditions and causes of the various regulatory regimes, such as the economic benefits reaped from the colonial opium trade and the role that duties on alcohol played in state formation. Moreover, it explores the consequences of different regulatory regimes, e.g. the shift in the supply of (increasingly strong) liquor and the professionalisation of crime, both unintended consequences of American Prohibition. The Control of Fuddle and Flash provides original insights into the political economy of regulatory regimes, and sheds new light on the contemporary debate on the 'drug problem'.