Not this Time: Canadians, Public Policy and the Marijuana Question, 1961–1975

2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 238-240
Author(s):  
Patricia G. Erickson
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Time Travel ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Drug Of Choice ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Drug Policy Reform

Not this Time: Canadians, Public Policy and the Marijuana Question, 1961–1975, Marcel Martel, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006, pp. x, 277.It is said of the 1960s, “If you can remember them, you weren't really there.” For those who need a refresher course, this book is an alternative to time travel. For the younger, post-1970s generation who literally were not there, this book tells them all they ever need to know about the history of Canada's marijuana laws and why they have been so resistant to change. Considering that nearly three quarters of this current crop of young adults has tried marijuana, according to the Canadian Addiction Survey of 2004, perhaps they should be asking why the drug of choice for so many is still illegal. Martel's detailed snapshot of this crucial 15-year period sets out the actors, forces and political pressures that are still very much a part of the ongoing and unresolved debate on drug policy reform in Canada.

scholarly journals Shadow Committees: On “Drug User Voice,” Representation, and Mobilization in a Norwegian Drug Policy Reform

2021 ◽  
pp. 009145092110037
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Bartoszko
Keyword(s):  
Drug User ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Illegal Drug Use ◽  
Conservative Policy ◽  
Political Landscapes ◽  
Alternative Organization ◽  
Drug Policy Reform

Until recently, Norway remained immovable on its conservative policy that illegal drug use is a crime. In 2018, the Health Minister appointed an inquiry commission to design a less restrictive drug policy, which included two “drug user representatives.” But the Minister’s choices for these posts met massive dissatisfaction from some drug users who contended that the representatives “are not real drug users” and do not “speak for” nor “act on the behalf” of their experiences and opinions. They mobilized to establish an alternative organization, the Shadow Committee, to propose a drug policy reform shaped by “the user voices” and “not polluted by political compromises.” Yet, while performing a labor of difference, this committee, too, became caught in conflicting landscapes of representation with some members contesting strategic solidarity. Based on this case, and an ethnographic fieldwork among the protesters, this article investigates the concept of representation as understood, contested and applied by “drug users.” Exploring how they relate to “user voices” and question the authenticity of some of “user representatives,” I highlight how changing political landscapes affect understandings of representation and shape political, individual and collective forms of involvement. I draw on Pitkin’s political philosophy and apply the classical categorization of political representation to suggest reconsidering the governing assumptions regarding “user representatives” that increasingly inform drug and treatment policies in Norway. I ask if the concept of representation itself may be a barrier to meaningful involvement.

scholarly journals The Origins of the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Enros
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Programs Of Study ◽  
The University ◽  
Phd Programs

An effort to establish programs of study in the history of science took place at the University of Toronto in the 1960s. Initial discussions began in 1963. Four years later, the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology was created. By the end of 1969 the Institute was enrolling students in new MA and PhD programs. This activity involved the interaction of the newly emerging discipline of the history of science, the practices of the University, and the perspectives of Toronto’s faculty. The story of its origins adds to our understanding of how the discipline of the history of science was institutionalized in the 1960s, as well as how new programs were formed at that time at the University of Toronto.

The misuse of drugs act – a user perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mat Southwell
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Drug User ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Drug Policy Reform

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate the ways in which the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA) militates against the interests and situations of people who use drugs. The author reflects on the author’s journey as a drug user, drugs workers and drug user organiser to critique the MDA. The author describes the impact of the MDA on the author’s early experimentation with substances and highlights the limitations of simplistic drugs prevention. The author describes how the MDA maximises drug-related risks and undermines the creation of healthy cultural norms and community learning among people who use drugs. The author talks about the author’s work as a drugs practitioner and mourns the vandalism of the UK’s harm reduction and drug treatment system. This paper describes the opportunity to use drug policy reform as a progressive electoral agenda to begin the journey towards racial and social justice. This paper calls for the rejection of the Big Drugs Lie and the repeal of the failed MDA. Design/methodology/approach Personal reflection based on experience as drug user, drugs worker and drug user organiser. Findings Successive UK Governments have used the MDA as a tool of social control and racial discrimination. The Big Drugs Lie undermines science-based and rights-compliant drug policy and drug services and criminalises and puts young people at risk. There is the potential to build a progressive political alliance to remove the impediment of the MDA and use drug policy reform as tools for racial and social justice. Practical implications The MDA maximises the harms faced by people who use drugs, stokes stigma and discrimination and has undermined the quality of drug services. The MDA needs to be exposed and challenged as a tool for social control and racial discrimination. Delivering drug policy reform as a progressive electoral strategy could maximise its potential to improve social and racial justice. Originality/value This paper represents the view of people who use drugs by a drug user, a view which is seldom expressed in the length and level of argument shown here.

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