Psychotropes & sociétés (Psychotropics & Societies) gathers work deriving from a long history – numerous publications could fit under this title. However, if most experts as early as the 1970s recognized the close link between the psychotropic uses of drugs and their social context, the will to understand in order to act is relatively recent. This new field of expertise emerged during the 1990s and faced many obstacles. To put this evolution toward a new approach into perspective, it is enough to mention here two seminars that marked research prior to this new paradigm.