Hello everyone

        I second all of Ian Tyrrell's proposals for the future of
ATHG.  Internationalizing the membership and organization,
disseminating members' work more widely, and broadening the focus of
the group to include drugs, would, I think, be salutary developments.
While the inclusion of drugs is not without problems, I would argue
that the possibilities and opportunities outweigh any potential
difficulties.  The doctoral program at my university focuses on
policy history, for example, and in this context the pairing of drugs
and alcohol makes a great deal of sense.  Of course, one could easily
teach a course on either drug or alcohol policy, but it seems to me
that the comparison between governmental and private attempts to
control, regulate, or prohibit the two is useful and enlightening.

        I won't be at the conference either, due to a prior
commitment.  I look forward to hearing all about it though.  Are
there any plans to publish proceedings or a volume containing some or
all of the papers presented?


                                        Scott