Historique
Chapitre
The culture of drug policy
Auteur(s) :
BERGERON, H.
Année :
2011
Page(s) :
273-294
Langue(s) :
Anglais
ISBN :
978-1-4094-0543-6
Domaine :
Plusieurs produits / Several products
Discipline :
SAN (Santé publique / Public health)
Thésaurus géographique
FRANCE
;
EUROPE
Thésaurus mots-clés
POLITIQUE
;
CULTUREL
;
REPRESSION
;
SANTE PUBLIQUE
;
SIDA
;
MODELE
;
HISTOIRE
;
REDUCTION DES RISQUES ET DES DOMMAGES
Résumé :
Two major, relatively recent policy phenomena deserve new attention today. The first is the development of a genuinely European policy discourse, a relatively new social fact that sociologists need to be able to handle. Overall, that discourse as practiced in the various countries concurs on a few main principles to be abided by and a set of interventions to be practiced in the framework of drug policies. The second pertains to the relative convergence of policies actually under way in the various European Union states. As in any scientific operation purporting to demonstrate the validity of such claims, it is important to specify carefully the level at which convergence is occurring and the dimensions used to evaluate it. I will assess convergence here by considering two fundamental political dimensions: legal attitudes and practices toward "simple" drug-users (i.e., who use without intention to distribute or sell), and the political acceptability of harm risk-reduction measures. [...]
To support this hypothesis, I first briefly retrace a few of the main movements that have recently impacted on drug policy in Europe, attending first and foremost to the two dimensions indicated above. As we shall see, much of the political legitimacy and social legitimacy of this cultural model is founded on reasoning in terms of public health and medical concerns. I conclude the chapter by presenting some of the meanings and consequences that can be deduced from the existence of this particular model. [Extracts]
To support this hypothesis, I first briefly retrace a few of the main movements that have recently impacted on drug policy in Europe, attending first and foremost to the two dimensions indicated above. As we shall see, much of the political legitimacy and social legitimacy of this cultural model is founded on reasoning in terms of public health and medical concerns. I conclude the chapter by presenting some of the meanings and consequences that can be deduced from the existence of this particular model. [Extracts]
Affiliation :
CSO CNRS - Sciences Po, France
Cote :
L01616