A request from a reader:
I’ll be teaching an upper division college course that looks at important
issues in political philosophy/philosophy of law/ethics via the drug war.I want feminist, queer, and other traditionally (in academic philosophy)
marginalized perspectives to be an important part of our discussion of as
many issues as possible. I’m in decent shape for a few topics. But I really
am ignorant of the literature –even where to start looking– on many
others. So, I was hoping that you might have some ideas/suggestions for
material on any of these:*The drug war/drug policy in general
*Autonomy
*The Harm Principle (only acts which harm others may be criminalized)
*Legal paternalism (using the law to protect people from harming themselves)
*Legal moralism (the state may criminalize immoral acts)
*Punishment (what it is; when it’s justified; how much is justified)
*Privacy (rights against search and seizure; drug testing)
*The effects of drug trade on local peoples (especially in major
drug-producing countries like Columbia, Burma, Afghanistan)*Felony disenfranchisement
*Issues surrounding drug culture/media representations of drug use
*History of drug policy
There are several additional topics which I’m thinking of covering, but
they’re slipping my mind right now. Basically, I’d really appreciate
ANYTHING you might think of that could be relevant to the
philosophical/moral/legal issues that the drug war raises.
Can anyone help him out? (And it’ll also help me to add some good reads to my Amazon list).
N.B. I come at substance use from a harm reduction perspective, work at a needle exchange.
In Search of Respect P. Bourgois isbn 0521017114
What’s Wrong with Addiction? H. Keane isbn 0814747655
Creating the American Junkie C. Acker isbn 0801867983
Habitus and Social Suffering: Culture, Addiction and the Syringe in Feminism after Bourdieu L. Atkins and B. Skeggs isbn 1405123958
On Drugs D. Lenson 0816627118
Crack Wars: Literature Addiction Mania A. Ronell isbn 0252071905
Women, Harm Reduction and HIV Open Society Institute
There’s a bunch more there at OSI. Also drugpolicy.org, harmreduction.org and (plug for where I’m at!) anypositivechange.org
I may have more later, but good luck! There’s a lot of material out there, and this little bit is far from all of it.
Sorry I messed up the link. The last 2 paragraphs point at the OSI document.
I highly recommend the Correctional Association Women in Prison Project report “When Free Means Losing Your Mother”.
These might be helpful:
http://alternet.org/healthwellness/72391/
http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/72956/
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/09/26/unapproved.drugs/index.html
You might want to check out the work of Kimani Paul-Emile, an Associate Professor of Law at Fordham University.
As part of my graduate coursework, we read a book called Using Women.
For the Drug War/drug policy in general, try
Drug Wars and Coffeehouses by David Mares
It’s written for undergraduates, comparing a variety of national drug policies, their histories and how effectual they are.
I thought this book was excellent: Substance and Shadow: Women and Addiction in the United States, by Stephen Kandall.
Also, this isn’t exactly what you were asking for, but it is a fascinating book in my opinion: Reconsidering Drugs: Mapping Victorian and Modern Drug Discourses by Lawrence Driscoll. It might be more “literary” than what you’re looking for, but Driscoll has some really thought-provoking analysis of the stories we tell ourselves about drugs and addiction.
Oh, and I forgot this one: From Witches to Crack Moms: Women, Drug Law, and Policy by Susan C. Boyd, a new book that’s got some great stuff.
Also, if you happen to be looking for an anthology of fiction and personal writing, Sisters of the Extreme (despite its kooky title) is a good start.
Thank you all so much. This is really helpful