Drugs: History, Law, Consequences

The drug phenomenon represents a various and important subject in society nowadays, due to the fact that it is the cause for many studies, criminal activities, legal regulations, international co-operations and lives affected. In this manner, a good understanding of the relationship between humans and narcotics can be formed by researching its evolution throughout history. Since ancient times, people have manifested interest in these substances, either from a philosophical approach or simply by the curiosity of experimenting their effects. The perspective towards drugs suffered many variations, from a positive one, thanks to their medical properties, to a negative one, mainly caused by the severe consequences of overdose and the continuous growth of the underground network belonging to the producers, carriers and dealers. By becoming a threat to the social order, the states had to create and apply laws to counter this rapidly evolving trend. The legal norms brought into existence by the legislative powers covered different topics such as: rules in regards to the production, selling and acquiring, alongside consumption. Domains such as Psychology and Medicine joined forces, especially in the last century, to research and present the effects of long or short term consumption of narcotics.