How the neoliberal drive toward “happiness” paves the way for “virtuous" drug use

As argued in one of the studies in today's Crime Research Update

Hello! I'm Aaron Jacklin, and this is The Art of Explaining Crime, an independent newsletter that helps you think and write about crime.

Use this tip sheet to help you integrate the latest research into your work. It's a directory of new crime research published by the academic journals that I monitor. The directory includes, for example, this study listing:

Virtuous drug use in the neoliberal age

Journal: Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy
Keywords: drug use, drug, policy
First author: Caroline Chatwin (School of Law and Criminology, University of Greenwich) [+1 other author]

In this paper, the authors argue that the pursuit of “happiness” encouraged in neoliberal society allows for a specific type of drug use, so long as that use can be said to enhance the user’s pursuit of self-improvement, productivity, and other neoliberal goals, and without suffering too much harm as a result. Additionally, only a certain kind of person will be allowed to claim that their drug use is “virtuous.” They write: “‘Virtuous’ drugtakers must, by definition, be healthy, productive, successful members of society who can afford to access luxury settings for drug use.” This means that those whose drug use is currently stigmatized will continue to be stigmatized. “Neglected, poverty-stricken, marginalized, and subordinated social groups will not be afforded the possibility that their drug-taking might, for example, be a legitimate response to ongoing trauma, discrimination, and vulnerability.”

You’ll find more listings for today’s new research below.

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Photo by Campbell Jensen on Unsplash. Modified by Aaron Jacklin in Canva.

The research listings for today's research are sorted by two broad categories: crime type and criminal justice/legal system stage. Research that doesn’t get sorted into those categories follows under “Unsorted Research.”

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