Dutch drug policy is the object of both admiration and revilement. This book traces the rise of "coffeeshop" phenomenon in the Netherlands and explains why the retail sale of cannabis, though prohibited by law, is tolerated in practice. It analyses the impact of decriminalization on the use of soft drugs. Are the Dutch smoking more hashish and marijuana thanks to the coffeeshops? And how have these establishments influenced the use of hard drugs, heroin in particular? Heroin use is further examined against the backdrop of programmes providing methadone to drug users. Who are the heroin users and why do they take methadone? How does methadone affect their health, and what influence does it have on crime? The author focuses sharply on methodological issues involved in researching hidden populations and proposes a method for randomized snowball sampling. Though the chief emphasis is on drug policy and drug use in the Netherlands, trends in Germany and other Western nations are also considered.