The Alcohol and Drugs History Society convenes this weekend at Utrecht University in the Netherlands for its biennial meeting. The conference theme is “Drinking and Drug Policies in History: Contextualizing Causes and Consequences.” There, participants are presenting new research and charting the future of the field. In an opening keynote address delivered Friday evening, “The Consumption of Intoxicants in the Past – Old Problems, New Approaches,” Phil Withington suggested innovative methodologies to make sense of how and why people – and, importantly, which people – used intoxicants in the past. (Also be sure to check out Dr. Withington’s Intoxicant Project for more information on drug use in early modern Europe.)