Pub Date : 2024-08-09DOI: 10.1177/00914509241271652
Alejandra Zuluaga Duque
Ontopolitically-oriented research is a concept recently developed in critical drug scholarship that draws from science and technology studies to consider the ontological politics of research practices (Fraser, 2020). It has been instructive for challenging foundational ideas about alcohol and other drugs and thinking through both the political implications and ethical obligations of research practices. This article discusses potential synergies between ontopolitically-oriented research, Latin American feminist theory, and decolonial theory. Specifically, I explore the experience of conducting research in the Global North while remaining sensitive to Latin American ontological commitments. My argument is illustrated through reflections from a research project I have conducted on coca cultivation, human rights, and gender in Colombia. The aim of this article is not to report project findings in depth but to offer a set of reflections on research methods and future practice, incorporating insights from Latina feminist theory and decolonial theory. Drawing inspiration from Gloria Anzaldúa's (1987) concept of “mestiza consciousness,” I explore the overlaps between the ontological turn and the decolonial turn and propose the need to trouble “universal” and normative concepts in research practices.
{"title":"Ontopolitically-oriented Research on Coca Growing: Integrating Decolonial Knowledges and Latina Feminisms","authors":"Alejandra Zuluaga Duque","doi":"10.1177/00914509241271652","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00914509241271652","url":null,"abstract":"Ontopolitically-oriented research is a concept recently developed in critical drug scholarship that draws from science and technology studies to consider the ontological politics of research practices (Fraser, 2020). It has been instructive for challenging foundational ideas about alcohol and other drugs and thinking through both the political implications and ethical obligations of research practices. This article discusses potential synergies between ontopolitically-oriented research, Latin American feminist theory, and decolonial theory. Specifically, I explore the experience of conducting research in the Global North while remaining sensitive to Latin American ontological commitments. My argument is illustrated through reflections from a research project I have conducted on coca cultivation, human rights, and gender in Colombia. The aim of this article is not to report project findings in depth but to offer a set of reflections on research methods and future practice, incorporating insights from Latina feminist theory and decolonial theory. Drawing inspiration from Gloria Anzaldúa's (1987) concept of “mestiza consciousness,” I explore the overlaps between the ontological turn and the decolonial turn and propose the need to trouble “universal” and normative concepts in research practices.","PeriodicalId":35813,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Drug Problems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141922816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-21DOI: 10.1177/00914509241255317
Oliver Sutcliffe, Rose Crossin, J. D. Sellman
Alcohol use is a major determinant of health at both an individual and societal level. In New Zealand alcohol is legal and highly commercialized. Its harms are pervasive and are inadequately managed by current alcohol policy. However, contemporary methods for policy reform have also proven ineffective, and so effective alcohol regulation has been repeatedly thwarted. This essay first outlines the current state of regulatory failure and establishes the need for reform, before proposing citizens’ assemblies as a solution to this public health conundrum. These are novel democratic institutions designed to secure an informed and representative public voice as the central determinant of policy. This essay contends that an appropriately designed citizens’ assembly is likely to lead to alcohol policy which is more informed, evidence-based, and democratically accountable than current methods. Such an assembly would also be consistent with the Treaty of Waitangi principles and may assist in reducing alcohol-related inequities for Māori. Finally, in discussing such an assembly, this essay presents an internationally applicable model which could be employed for a range of other drug policy issues.
{"title":"A Citizens’ Wānanga on Alcohol Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand: An Essay on Theoretical Underpinnings and Practical Considerations","authors":"Oliver Sutcliffe, Rose Crossin, J. D. Sellman","doi":"10.1177/00914509241255317","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00914509241255317","url":null,"abstract":"Alcohol use is a major determinant of health at both an individual and societal level. In New Zealand alcohol is legal and highly commercialized. Its harms are pervasive and are inadequately managed by current alcohol policy. However, contemporary methods for policy reform have also proven ineffective, and so effective alcohol regulation has been repeatedly thwarted. This essay first outlines the current state of regulatory failure and establishes the need for reform, before proposing citizens’ assemblies as a solution to this public health conundrum. These are novel democratic institutions designed to secure an informed and representative public voice as the central determinant of policy. This essay contends that an appropriately designed citizens’ assembly is likely to lead to alcohol policy which is more informed, evidence-based, and democratically accountable than current methods. Such an assembly would also be consistent with the Treaty of Waitangi principles and may assist in reducing alcohol-related inequities for Māori. Finally, in discussing such an assembly, this essay presents an internationally applicable model which could be employed for a range of other drug policy issues.","PeriodicalId":35813,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Drug Problems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141115506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-20DOI: 10.1177/00914509241256002
Timothy M. Piatkowski, Bianca Whiteside, Jonathan Robertson, Severine Lamon, Matthew Dunn
Background: Women comprise a minority of performance and image-enhancing drug (PIED) consumers, with use linked to undesirable side effects. Preliminary work suggests that many women have little knowledge of what substances they are using, with males close to them involved in their use. This study aimed to explore women's motivations for PIED use; to examine the negative health experiences related to use; and to understand how interpersonal relationships facilitate their use. Method: Women who had used PIEDs were invited to participate in an online survey ( N = 28) and/or interview ( N = 10). Open-text survey and interview data were analyzed using content and thematic analyses, respectively. Results: There were three key areas (motivations, health experience, role of third parties) within which 12 theme categories were developed from the survey data. There were three overarching themes developed from interviews that expanded on these data: socializing women's use, facilitating women's use, and PIEDs exacerbating existing issues. Conclusion: The findings substantiate the nuanced gender dynamics of women's PIED use, challenging stereotypes and revealing the complexity of their motivations and experiences. While women's reasons for PIED use may share some semblance with men's, there is a less comprehensive understanding of the physical and psychosocial impacts of these drugs. To empower women and destigmatize PIED use, interventions focusing on substance literacy and stigma management are crucial. Future research should explore these interventions’ effectiveness in promoting women's well-being and autonomy.
{"title":"Performance and Image Enhancing Drug Use Among Australian Women: The Role of Interpersonal Relationships in Facilitating Use","authors":"Timothy M. Piatkowski, Bianca Whiteside, Jonathan Robertson, Severine Lamon, Matthew Dunn","doi":"10.1177/00914509241256002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00914509241256002","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Women comprise a minority of performance and image-enhancing drug (PIED) consumers, with use linked to undesirable side effects. Preliminary work suggests that many women have little knowledge of what substances they are using, with males close to them involved in their use. This study aimed to explore women's motivations for PIED use; to examine the negative health experiences related to use; and to understand how interpersonal relationships facilitate their use. Method: Women who had used PIEDs were invited to participate in an online survey ( N = 28) and/or interview ( N = 10). Open-text survey and interview data were analyzed using content and thematic analyses, respectively. Results: There were three key areas (motivations, health experience, role of third parties) within which 12 theme categories were developed from the survey data. There were three overarching themes developed from interviews that expanded on these data: socializing women's use, facilitating women's use, and PIEDs exacerbating existing issues. Conclusion: The findings substantiate the nuanced gender dynamics of women's PIED use, challenging stereotypes and revealing the complexity of their motivations and experiences. While women's reasons for PIED use may share some semblance with men's, there is a less comprehensive understanding of the physical and psychosocial impacts of these drugs. To empower women and destigmatize PIED use, interventions focusing on substance literacy and stigma management are crucial. Future research should explore these interventions’ effectiveness in promoting women's well-being and autonomy.","PeriodicalId":35813,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Drug Problems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141123591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-15DOI: 10.1177/00914509241254784
Liviu Alexandrescu
Recent efforts to rethink drug-related stigma have been increasingly considering the power dimension of the concept, to show how stigma formations flow top-down from governments, as well as other political or corporate stakeholders, towards the powerless and marginalised. Stigma attaches itself to the individual and collective identities of the substance-using subject. But it equally alters the multiple lives of the substance. In the US opioid crisis of recent decades, big pharma companies could be seen lobbying the medical profession and harnessing their power to destigmatise opioid painkillers, as part of wider marketing and sales strategies. This has been subsequently linked with rising opioid-related fatalities and spiralling harms among some of the most vulnerable groups. This theoretical paper locates the object-stigma of drugs between the cultural confines of ‘limbic capitalism’ (the drive to seek pleasure and meaning through consumption) and ‘palliative capitalism’ (the drive to pathologise and medicate ills attributed to the individual, but not the system). It argues that stigma should be viewed as a dynamic force which, under the guise of consumer culture and the veil of scientific rationality, can be manipulated by business elites to shift meanings around pain, pleasure, and addiction, in ways that are potentially conducive to social harms.
{"title":"Drug Stigma, Consumer Culture, and Corporate Power in the Opioid Crisis","authors":"Liviu Alexandrescu","doi":"10.1177/00914509241254784","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00914509241254784","url":null,"abstract":"Recent efforts to rethink drug-related stigma have been increasingly considering the power dimension of the concept, to show how stigma formations flow top-down from governments, as well as other political or corporate stakeholders, towards the powerless and marginalised. Stigma attaches itself to the individual and collective identities of the substance-using subject. But it equally alters the multiple lives of the substance. In the US opioid crisis of recent decades, big pharma companies could be seen lobbying the medical profession and harnessing their power to destigmatise opioid painkillers, as part of wider marketing and sales strategies. This has been subsequently linked with rising opioid-related fatalities and spiralling harms among some of the most vulnerable groups. This theoretical paper locates the object-stigma of drugs between the cultural confines of ‘limbic capitalism’ (the drive to seek pleasure and meaning through consumption) and ‘palliative capitalism’ (the drive to pathologise and medicate ills attributed to the individual, but not the system). It argues that stigma should be viewed as a dynamic force which, under the guise of consumer culture and the veil of scientific rationality, can be manipulated by business elites to shift meanings around pain, pleasure, and addiction, in ways that are potentially conducive to social harms.","PeriodicalId":35813,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Drug Problems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140973135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-06DOI: 10.1177/00914509241252031
Allison Schlosser, Roma Subramanian, Ciera E. Kirkpatrick, Annie Butler, Kelli S. Boling, Jessica Hample, Patrick Habecker, Valerie Jones
Opioid-related overdose death continues to be a public health crisis in the United States, reaching a new peak in 2021 with more than 100,000 people dying of drug overdose; 75% of these deaths involved an opioid. Naloxone, often known by the brand name Narcan®, can be easily administered to prevent opioid overdose death. While naloxone is a central harm reduction tool, it has generated controversy as discussions of its use have been framed by longstanding stigmas associated with drug use. Critics have framed it as a “moral hazard” that encourages drug use, stigmatizing its distribution and uptake. Harm reductionists have responded by countering misinformation about drug use and harm reduction and humanizing people who use drugs. Social media platforms have become key sites for these debates. These are digital social spaces in which individuals may fuel stigma and/or build community with others by enacting identities, exchanging knowledge, and bonding over shared experiences. TikTok, a video-based platform, has become an active space for community-building around harm reduction. This article examines the experiences of people who post about naloxone on TikTok. We draw on thematic analyses of semistructured, open-ended interviews with 13 TikTok users who tagged posts with #naloxonesaveslives or #narcansaveslives hashtags from June 2020 to April 2023. Specifically, we explore how these individuals understand and leverage TikTok's association, creative, and interactive affordances as “doors” to build harm reduction community and to educate others about drug use and harm reduction. We also explore how they navigate the “traps” of visibility on TikTok that pose challenges to using the platform for harm reduction activism: stigma, burnout, mental distress, and digital silencing. Finally, we consider the implications of our findings for future research and practice related to digital harm reduction activism.
{"title":"Algorithmic Doors to Community and the Trap of Visibility: TikTok for Harm Reduction Activism in the U.S. Overdose Crisis","authors":"Allison Schlosser, Roma Subramanian, Ciera E. Kirkpatrick, Annie Butler, Kelli S. Boling, Jessica Hample, Patrick Habecker, Valerie Jones","doi":"10.1177/00914509241252031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00914509241252031","url":null,"abstract":"Opioid-related overdose death continues to be a public health crisis in the United States, reaching a new peak in 2021 with more than 100,000 people dying of drug overdose; 75% of these deaths involved an opioid. Naloxone, often known by the brand name Narcan®, can be easily administered to prevent opioid overdose death. While naloxone is a central harm reduction tool, it has generated controversy as discussions of its use have been framed by longstanding stigmas associated with drug use. Critics have framed it as a “moral hazard” that encourages drug use, stigmatizing its distribution and uptake. Harm reductionists have responded by countering misinformation about drug use and harm reduction and humanizing people who use drugs. Social media platforms have become key sites for these debates. These are digital social spaces in which individuals may fuel stigma and/or build community with others by enacting identities, exchanging knowledge, and bonding over shared experiences. TikTok, a video-based platform, has become an active space for community-building around harm reduction. This article examines the experiences of people who post about naloxone on TikTok. We draw on thematic analyses of semistructured, open-ended interviews with 13 TikTok users who tagged posts with #naloxonesaveslives or #narcansaveslives hashtags from June 2020 to April 2023. Specifically, we explore how these individuals understand and leverage TikTok's association, creative, and interactive affordances as “doors” to build harm reduction community and to educate others about drug use and harm reduction. We also explore how they navigate the “traps” of visibility on TikTok that pose challenges to using the platform for harm reduction activism: stigma, burnout, mental distress, and digital silencing. Finally, we consider the implications of our findings for future research and practice related to digital harm reduction activism.","PeriodicalId":35813,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Drug Problems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141006623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-24DOI: 10.1177/00914509241246083
Evan McClelland, Ruth T. Shefner, Josephine Johnson, Evan D. Anderson
Numerous cities are experimenting with pre-booking diversion programs that allow police officers to divert community members to supportive services in instances that would otherwise result in arrest and prosecution. These programs aim to decrease harmful involvement with the criminal justice system while reducing crime and public disorder. Although previous research has explored the experiences of people receiving diversion referrals and of police officers initiating them, none have examined the perspectives of community members who can offer crucial insights into planning, evaluation, and implementation barriers. We administered a survey to 293 people living in four police districts where the Philadelphia Police Department operates a pre-booking diversion program. The survey explored residents’ perspectives on the program as well as their broader views on associated issues like decriminalization of substance use, sex work, and minor theft. Bivariate χ2 tests and multivariate logistic regression examined differences in responses between subgroups. Perspectives were diverse and varied based on demographic attributes of the respondents as well as on district-level attributes, like crime patterns. Most surveyed community members perceived pre-booking diversion to be a valuable tool for improving the experiences and outcomes of policing. However, residents living in areas with more crime and with more public disorder held significantly less positive perspectives. Their skepticism may reflect the possibility that pre-booking diversion and similar reforms are necessary but not sufficient to transforming individual health and public safety in some areas.
{"title":"Resident Perspectives on a Pre-booking Diversion Program","authors":"Evan McClelland, Ruth T. Shefner, Josephine Johnson, Evan D. Anderson","doi":"10.1177/00914509241246083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00914509241246083","url":null,"abstract":"Numerous cities are experimenting with pre-booking diversion programs that allow police officers to divert community members to supportive services in instances that would otherwise result in arrest and prosecution. These programs aim to decrease harmful involvement with the criminal justice system while reducing crime and public disorder. Although previous research has explored the experiences of people receiving diversion referrals and of police officers initiating them, none have examined the perspectives of community members who can offer crucial insights into planning, evaluation, and implementation barriers. We administered a survey to 293 people living in four police districts where the Philadelphia Police Department operates a pre-booking diversion program. The survey explored residents’ perspectives on the program as well as their broader views on associated issues like decriminalization of substance use, sex work, and minor theft. Bivariate χ2 tests and multivariate logistic regression examined differences in responses between subgroups. Perspectives were diverse and varied based on demographic attributes of the respondents as well as on district-level attributes, like crime patterns. Most surveyed community members perceived pre-booking diversion to be a valuable tool for improving the experiences and outcomes of policing. However, residents living in areas with more crime and with more public disorder held significantly less positive perspectives. Their skepticism may reflect the possibility that pre-booking diversion and similar reforms are necessary but not sufficient to transforming individual health and public safety in some areas.","PeriodicalId":35813,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Drug Problems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140664163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-05DOI: 10.1177/00914509241231821
Nathan E. Kruis, Övgü Kaynak, Christopher Whipple, Erica Saylor, W. Kensinger
Scholars have argued that stigma of opioid use disorder (OUD) is a significant barrier to implementing evidence-based responses to the opioid crisis, including the use of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). They have also documented a relationship between addiction frameworks and support for punitive responses to substance use. Using a representative sample of Pennsylvania residents ( N = 1,033), the current study synthesizes this literature by empirically examining the relationship between addiction frameworks, opioid-related stigma, and policy-related attitudes (i.e., NIMBY syndrome, support for punitive treatment of OUD, and support for employment discrimination against individuals prescribed MOUD). Results show that support for the disease model of addiction was negatively associated with endorsing NIMBY syndrome for opioid-treatment centers, support for punitive treatment of OUD, and support for employment discrimination against individuals prescribed MOUD; however, these relationships were fully mediated by opioid-related stigma, such that support for the disease model of addiction impacted outcome measures only indirectly through opioid-related stigma. Policy implications are discussed within.
{"title":"Addiction Frameworks, Social Stigma, and NIMBY Syndrome: Examining Barriers to Responding to the Opioid Crisis","authors":"Nathan E. Kruis, Övgü Kaynak, Christopher Whipple, Erica Saylor, W. Kensinger","doi":"10.1177/00914509241231821","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00914509241231821","url":null,"abstract":"Scholars have argued that stigma of opioid use disorder (OUD) is a significant barrier to implementing evidence-based responses to the opioid crisis, including the use of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). They have also documented a relationship between addiction frameworks and support for punitive responses to substance use. Using a representative sample of Pennsylvania residents ( N = 1,033), the current study synthesizes this literature by empirically examining the relationship between addiction frameworks, opioid-related stigma, and policy-related attitudes (i.e., NIMBY syndrome, support for punitive treatment of OUD, and support for employment discrimination against individuals prescribed MOUD). Results show that support for the disease model of addiction was negatively associated with endorsing NIMBY syndrome for opioid-treatment centers, support for punitive treatment of OUD, and support for employment discrimination against individuals prescribed MOUD; however, these relationships were fully mediated by opioid-related stigma, such that support for the disease model of addiction impacted outcome measures only indirectly through opioid-related stigma. Policy implications are discussed within.","PeriodicalId":35813,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Drug Problems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140263373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-15DOI: 10.1177/00914509231220685
Suzanne Fraser
Trouble seems to be characteristic of contemporary politics and life. From the environment to the pandemic, crises of political credibility around the world, conflict on social media and the drama of so-called “cancel culture”, avoiding or settling trouble seems more unimaginable than ever. Yet, as the theme of this conference makes clear, trouble is not always negative, especially when posed in verb form. To trouble preconceptions, orthodoxies or alienating norms can be productive, exciting and transformative. This is as much the case in research as in any other area of life. Troubling our founding assumptions, our research questions, our theories and methods is the way we move forward, even if it is not always easy or immediately rewarding. In this keynote presentation I will reflect on my own engagements with forms of scholarly trouble, drawing on the work of Donna Haraway in her book Staying with the trouble (2018) to identify key ways in which we as researchers may “embrace trouble” in useful and productive ways. Thinking through some central propositions articulated by Haraway in her engagement with other scholars, such as the importance of storytelling, the value of grieving, and the uses of response-ability, I will offer a range of examples drawn from my own work in critical drug studies and ontopolitical research to highlight the promises and pitfalls of trouble. In doing so, I aim to acknowledge the opportunities I have enjoyed over the years to be part of the innovative and courageous field of critical drug studies, of which the Contemporary Drug Problems conference is also an important part.
{"title":"“Staying with the Trouble” in Ontopolitical Research on Drugs","authors":"Suzanne Fraser","doi":"10.1177/00914509231220685","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00914509231220685","url":null,"abstract":"Trouble seems to be characteristic of contemporary politics and life. From the environment to the pandemic, crises of political credibility around the world, conflict on social media and the drama of so-called “cancel culture”, avoiding or settling trouble seems more unimaginable than ever. Yet, as the theme of this conference makes clear, trouble is not always negative, especially when posed in verb form. To trouble preconceptions, orthodoxies or alienating norms can be productive, exciting and transformative. This is as much the case in research as in any other area of life. Troubling our founding assumptions, our research questions, our theories and methods is the way we move forward, even if it is not always easy or immediately rewarding. In this keynote presentation I will reflect on my own engagements with forms of scholarly trouble, drawing on the work of Donna Haraway in her book Staying with the trouble (2018) to identify key ways in which we as researchers may “embrace trouble” in useful and productive ways. Thinking through some central propositions articulated by Haraway in her engagement with other scholars, such as the importance of storytelling, the value of grieving, and the uses of response-ability, I will offer a range of examples drawn from my own work in critical drug studies and ontopolitical research to highlight the promises and pitfalls of trouble. In doing so, I aim to acknowledge the opportunities I have enjoyed over the years to be part of the innovative and courageous field of critical drug studies, of which the Contemporary Drug Problems conference is also an important part.","PeriodicalId":35813,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Drug Problems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139622997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-16DOI: 10.1177/00914509231214344
Edgar Guerra, Guus Zwitser
The present study offers an outlook on the current situation of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the field of harm reduction in Mexico. Analyzing Mexican harm reduction civil society organizations (HRCSOs) is necessary for three reasons: because they have historically represented a sensible alternative to drug policy proposals that emanate from the logic of the State; because they have the organizational and cognitive potential and the legitimacy to protect illicit substance users (with or without problematic use) from the risks and harms that drug policies may pose to this population; and because they are in a crisis that not only threatens the viability of their healthcare projects aimed at vulnerable populations but also, potentially, their own existence. The present article seeks to answer two questions—one descriptive and one explanatory: (a) What are the characteristics of Mexican CSOs that work in the field of harm reduction? (b) How do these organizations operate in a complex and dangerous environment? To answer these questions, the study uses data on the organizations’ structures and dynamics that were obtained through 20 semistructured interviews that were conducted with members of these organizations. The article describes HRCSOs on three levels: (a) the individual that establishes a radical habitus and acquires the identity of a harm reduction activist through identity construction; (b) the collective of activists that, through the creation of trust, becomes an HRCSO with its structures, programs, and resources; and (c) the harm reduction social movement that, through cooperation and conflict, becomes a field of activism. The study seeks to have two contributions to literature: (a) providing a preliminary mapping of the anatomy of HRCSOs and the field in which they operate; and (b) sensitizing society and decision-makers on the transcendence of these organizations for social and political life.
{"title":"Civil Society Organizations and Harm Reduction Policy: The Mexican Case","authors":"Edgar Guerra, Guus Zwitser","doi":"10.1177/00914509231214344","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00914509231214344","url":null,"abstract":"The present study offers an outlook on the current situation of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the field of harm reduction in Mexico. Analyzing Mexican harm reduction civil society organizations (HRCSOs) is necessary for three reasons: because they have historically represented a sensible alternative to drug policy proposals that emanate from the logic of the State; because they have the organizational and cognitive potential and the legitimacy to protect illicit substance users (with or without problematic use) from the risks and harms that drug policies may pose to this population; and because they are in a crisis that not only threatens the viability of their healthcare projects aimed at vulnerable populations but also, potentially, their own existence. The present article seeks to answer two questions—one descriptive and one explanatory: (a) What are the characteristics of Mexican CSOs that work in the field of harm reduction? (b) How do these organizations operate in a complex and dangerous environment? To answer these questions, the study uses data on the organizations’ structures and dynamics that were obtained through 20 semistructured interviews that were conducted with members of these organizations. The article describes HRCSOs on three levels: (a) the individual that establishes a radical habitus and acquires the identity of a harm reduction activist through identity construction; (b) the collective of activists that, through the creation of trust, becomes an HRCSO with its structures, programs, and resources; and (c) the harm reduction social movement that, through cooperation and conflict, becomes a field of activism. The study seeks to have two contributions to literature: (a) providing a preliminary mapping of the anatomy of HRCSOs and the field in which they operate; and (b) sensitizing society and decision-makers on the transcendence of these organizations for social and political life.","PeriodicalId":35813,"journal":{"name":"Contemporary Drug Problems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139270129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-15DOI: 10.1177/00914509231214342
Chloe Span, Baillee Farah, Nathan Ivetìc, Oisin Stronach
Background: Discourses around MDMA are often predominantly concerned with identifying risk and characterizing harm. Reluctance from Australian governments to reform drug policy and implement harm reduction services has created a policy and service gap, and it is therefore pertinent to consider how people who use MDMA mediate potential harms, and how this knowledge can inform approaches to drug use and policy reform. This community-led scoping review aimed to identify Australian literature on the practices of harm reduction strategies by people who use MDMA. Methods: Seven topic-specific and multidisciplinary databases were searched in February 2023 in line with conventional scoping review methodology. Eligible articles were published from 2002 onwards, reported on the voices of people who use MDMA as primary evidence within the context of Australia, and included at least one strategy to reduce harm. Data were analyzed by drawing on conventional content analysis and thematic analysis frameworks. Results: Twenty-three peer-reviewed and gray literature sources were included. Five key themes were identified on how people mediate harms and enhance the pleasurable aspects of MDMA use: drug consumption practices, planning and preparation, testing drugs, accessing health services, and community care practices. Conclusion: The results suggest that people who use MDMA take care to identify and reduce unwanted harms. The way people who use MDMA make decisions around drugs is mediated by peer groups and online technologies, as well as broader social and cultural contexts of drug use and drug prohibition. More qualitative, participatory, and action research projects are recommended to accurately reflect the views and needs of people who use MDMA and meaningfully shape service reform.
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