At the turn of the century, cocaine was regarded in Britain as a useful element of the pharmacopoeia, rather than a miraculous one. Risks associated with its use were recognized, but were perceived to be largely confined to a particular category of person. In this perspective, the typical cocaine victim was highly strung, vulnerable to mental or intellectual pressure and of relatively high social standing. Cocaine was regarded as a menace to such individuals, but not to society. That perception changed within the space of a few months during the First World War, when the drug was identified as a threat to soldiers. It was banned under emergency regulations, which were transferred to permanent legislation after the war. Cocaine was strongly associated with women--prostitutes, actresses, nightclub dancers, "flappers." It was at the center of a discourse that used anxiety about delinquent drug use as a means of articulating deeper fears about the transformations England was undergoing. The transformations of particular interest were those involving female emancipation, pleasure, morality, and perceived threats from the outside world, symbolized by drug-dealing "men of color." Primary sources, notes