Drug law reform, performativity and the politics of childhood

Children are critical to debates about drug law reform. For both advocates of liberalisation and, especially, defenders of prohibition, the protection of children is an important rhetorical device in pressing for, or resisting, change. However, the privileged position of minors within such discussions, or talk about drugs in general, has rarely been explored in any depth in either drug and alcohol studies or legal research. Drawing on scholarship on performativity, and particularly John Law ’s work on ‘collateral realities’, this article will consider how constructs such as childhood and drugs are ‘produced’ and ‘(re)made’ in such discourses.
Source: International Journal of Drug Policy - Category: Addiction Authors: Source Type: research