High Society is a new exhibition at London’s Wellcome Collection exploring the role of drugs in history and culture.

The curators seek to “explore the paths by which mind-altering drugs were first discovered – from apothecaries’ workshops to state-of-the-art laboratories – and how they came to be simultaneously fetished and demonised.” One of the most interesting aspects of the presentation is the insight it gives into pre-modern drug abuse – from ancient Egyptian poppy tinctures to Victorian cocaine eye drops. We’re also shown some of the ways that drugs have infiltrated popular culture via books, films and music. Artists whose own creations feature in the exhibition include Brion Gysin, Rodney Graham, Fred Tomaselli and Richard Hamilton.

There are also a number of talks and special events scheduled to take place over the course of December and January, details of which you can find here.

High Society is open now and runs until February 27, 2011. Admission is free.