Book excerpt: The United States and International Drug Control, 1909-1997 charts the US quest to internationalize the doctrine of drug prohibition. The study reveals the origins, motivation and methodologies as well as the recurring contradictions and inconsistencies present within the US overseas fight against the production, manufacture, trafficking and use of certain psychoactive substances. Drawing on extensive historical materials, David Bewley-Taylor uses the international career of America's first Drug Czar, Harry J. Anslinger, to explore how the US successfully exploited hegemonic superiority in 1945 to influence the philosophy of the multilateral drug control system operated by the United Nations.More than a purely historical study, the book employs an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the development, perpetuation and consequences of a US driven multilateral drug control system. Examining the contemporary UN drug control framework, the author argues that international legislation is largely ineffective.This provocative book is the first study to provide a picture of US involvement in drug control from its inception to the present day. Its wide-ranging scope makes it of interest not only to scholars of diplomatic history, US foreign Policy and international relations, but also to anyone concerned by the universal growth of the illicit drug problem.