Putting at risk what we know: Reflecting on the drug-using subject in harm reduction and its political implications

Moore, David; Fraser, Malcolm

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.11.067

Cited by 213 publications

(179 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Constituting people who use drugs in this way as rational and controlled neoliberal subjects may have intuitive appeal insofar as it apportions to people who use drugs the same respect and capabilities afforded to other citizens who, too, are expected to take responsibility their health. However, as Moore and Fraser (2006) have noted, engaging with and perpetuating such neoliberal constructions is not without risk and must be understood as a political decision. In weighing up the desirable and undesirable political effects, in the context of the ongoing recovery debate one approach may be to acknowledge the "strategic value of adopting the status of neo-liberal subject while remaining sceptical of it" (Moore & Fraser, 2006, p.3045).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Producing the ‘problem of drugs’: A cross national-comparison of ‘recovery’ discourse in two Australian and British reports

Lancaster¹,

Duke²,

Ritter³

2015

International Journal of Drug Policy

121

110

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Australian report on the place of 'recovery' in drug policy.• The problem of drugs was represented as 'dependence' alone in both documents, with the implication that not all illicit drug use is problematic.• People who use drugs problematically were constructed as either 'responsibilised' (Britain) or 'patientised' (Australia).• Conditional citizenship, associated only with treatment and recovery, is reinforced in both documents.• The perceived authority of the UKDPC and ANCD was critical to the recovery debates at the time the reports were produced.• As 'recovery' discourse continues to evolve, discussing its contested meanings and effects will be an ongoing endeavour. AbstractThe notion of 'recovery' as an overarching approach to drug policy remains controversial. This crossnational analysis considers how the problem of drugs was constructed and represented in two key reports on the place of 'recovery' in drug policy, critically examining how the problem of drugs (and the people who use them) are constituted in recovery discourse, and how these problematisations are shaped and disseminated. Bacchi's poststructuralist approach is applied to two documents (one in Britain and one in Australia) to analyse how the 'problem of drugs' and the people who use them are constituted: as problematic users, constraining alternative understandings of the shifting nature 3 of drug use; as responsibilised individuals (in Britain) and as patients (in Australia); as worthy of citizenship in the context of treatment and recovery, silencing the assumption of unworthiness and the loss of rights for those who continue to use drugs in 'problematic' ways. The position of the organisations which produced the reports is considered, with the authority of both organisations resting on their status as independent, apolitical bodies providing 'evidence-based' advice. There is a need to carefully weigh up the desirable and undesirable political effects of these constructions. The meaning of 'recovery' and how it could be realised in policy and practice is still being negotiated. By comparatively analysing how the problem of drugs was produced in 'recovery' discourse in two jurisdictions, at two specific points in the policy debate, we are reminded that ways of thinking about 'problems' reflect specific contexts, and how we are invoked to think about policy responses will be dependent upon these conditions. As 'recovery' continues to evolve, opening up spaces to discuss its contested meanings and effects will be an ongoing endeavour.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Producing the ‘problem of drugs’: A cross national-comparison of ‘recovery’ discourse in two Australian and British reports

Lancaster¹,

Duke²,

Ritter³

2015

International Journal of Drug Policy

121

110

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is time for harm reduction to deal with pleasure if it is going to bear any correlation with the real experiences of recreational drug users [8][9][10]. Where 'controlled' drug use is represented as self-evidently good, there is a risk of failing to grasp the dynamics of drug use, as well as some of the reasons why harm reduction measures are not always adopted by drug users.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“What Goes Up Must Come Down”: Exploring the Harms Experienced By a Group of Heavy Ecstasy Users in Melbourne and Discussing the Implications for Harm Reduction

Pennay

2011

TOADDJ

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“…A Foucauldian analysis identifies the reproduction and resistance of institutional discourses so as to understand how they enable and constrain the production of knowledge and what kinds of subjects can and cannot speak (Cheek, 2004;Moore & Fraser, 2006). The analysis rests upon the assumption that meaning is socially constructed and socially situated.…”

Section: Fieldwork and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This construction, however, produces a dilemma for drug users in that it simultaneously inscribes them as empowered individuals while also failing to adequately acknowledge the constraints of the socio-cultural context within which they are embedded (Fraser, 2004;Moore & Fraser, 2006). Some scholars (Mayock, 2005;Miller, 2001;Moore & Fraser, 2006) argue that this construction can result in drug users being more easily blamed for 'causing their own problems', while the social and structural determinants of health which lie outside their control are largely ignored. We do not mean to suggest that all versions of harm reduction draw solely upon neoliberalism or focus only upon individual behaviours to the detriment of social and societal factors.…”

Section: Reducing the Risks Associated With Adulterated 'Ecstasy'mentioning

confidence: 99%

“PMA Sounds Fun”: Negotiating Drug Discourses Online

Barratt

Allen

Lenton

2014

Substance Use & Misuse

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In 2007, a young woman, Annabel Catt, died after consuming a capsule sold as 'ecstasy' that contained para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA). In this paper, we describe how this death was depicted in online drug-user communities and illustrate how the meanings of drug use are negotiated in online settings. News articles, public online discussions, and online fieldwork formed the data. This paper demonstrates how dominant drug discourses may be resisted by drug users, drawing on theories of health resistance and Kane Race's concept of counterpublic health. Online environments may offer ways of engaging people who use drugs that acknowledge both pleasure and safety.

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Putting at risk what we know: Reflecting on the drug-using subject in harm reduction and its political implications

Cited by 213 publications

References 12 publications

Producing the ‘problem of drugs’: A cross national-comparison of ‘recovery’ discourse in two Australian and British reports

Producing the ‘problem of drugs’: A cross national-comparison of ‘recovery’ discourse in two Australian and British reports

“What Goes Up Must Come Down”: Exploring the Harms Experienced By a Group of Heavy Ecstasy Users in Melbourne and Discussing the Implications for Harm Reduction

“PMA Sounds Fun”: Negotiating Drug Discourses Online

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