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published_or_final_version ; Politics and Public Administration ; Master ; Master of Public Administration

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. ; publishedVersion

Recent increases in the prevalence of non-medical prescription drug use across the United States have prompted national concern about the sources of these drugs. The focus of this study is the process by which prescription drugs enter the United States from Mexico through "drug tourism." Drug tourism refers to the phenomenon by which persons become attracted to a particular location because of the accessibility of licit or illicit drugs and related services. A loophole in U.S. Customs laws enables Americans to legally bring pharmaceutical drugs into the United States when accompanied by a Mexican prescription. Using ethnographic field methods, this study (1) describes the acquisition process, (2) develops a typology of consumers, and (3) explores the interaction between the actors in this process. This study provides a better understanding of the social dynamics of a "gray market" in prescription drugs, and identifies a hidden population of drug users.

A memoir of intoxication like no other, On Drugs explores Chris Fleming's experience of drug addiction, which begins while he is a student before escalating into a life-threatening compulsion. A philosopher by training, Fleming combines meticulous observation of his life with a keen sense of the absurdity of his actions. He describes the intricacies of drug use and acquisition, their impact on the intellect and emotions, and the chaos that emerges as his tightly managed existence unravels into arrests, hospitalisations and family breakdown. His account is accompanied by searching reflections on his childhood, during which he developed acute obsessive compulsive disorder and became fixated on martial arts, music-making and bodybuilding. In confronting the pathos and comedy of drug use, On Drugs also opens out into meditations on the self and its deceptions, on popular culture, religion and mental illness, and the tortuous path to recovery

Examines drug control strategies in various countries in the twenty-first century; some focus on Denmark, France, Portugal, Sweden, Australia, Colombia, Jamaica, Mexico, Iran, Russia, and Canada; 12 articles. Contents: Danish drug policy, by Lau Laursen, Jorgen Jepsen; Policy paradigms, ideas, and interests: the case of the French public health policy toward drug abuse, by Henri Bergeron, Pierre Kopp; Decriminalization of drug use in Portugal: by Mirjam van het Loo et al.; Swedish drug policy in the twenty-first century: by Leif Lenke, Boerje Olsson; Harm minimization in a prohibition context--Australia, by Gabriele Bammer et al.; Science, ideology, and needle exchange programs, by Martin T. Schecter; Illegal drugs in Colombia, by Francisco E. Thoumi; Policy paradox: implications of U.S. drug control policy for Jamaica, by Marlyn J. Jones; Mexico's war on drugs, by Jorge Chabat; The price of freedom: illegal drug markets and policies in post-Soviet Russia, by Letizia Paoli; Money laundering and its regulation, by Michael Levi.

Public action increasingly takes place in self-organizing networks that are remote from direct governmental control. While these transformations have been subject to scrutiny in regard to their efficiency, less attention has been paid to their democratic quality. This article discusses governance-induced problems of democracy by isolating two major criticisms. Deliberative criticism argues that governance, rather than allowing for true deliberation in the public space, may lead to a loss of accountability. Participatory criticism stresses that governance impinges on participatory venues. The article discusses these criticisms theoretically & empirically, drawing from research on drug policy in Switzerland. The findings show that the criticisms are relevant, albeit not entirely justified. 3 Tables, 68 References. Adapted from the source document.