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This book presents an analysis tracing the operation of biopolitical mode of power in the global field of drug control. Through a series of theoretically framed investigations that relate current drug control policies to the broader frame of ‘vital politics,’ it attends to the relationship of drug control, democracy and authoritarianism and showcases these pressures on the case of the evolution of drug policy in the Czech Republic. Then, it turns attention to the relationship of power and knowledge, with a particular focus on ‘evidence-based’ policy that tends to more often sustain, rather than challenge coercive and punitive drug control policies. Last but not least, it looks at how the global drug control dispositif shapes those lives on one of Europe’s (internal) periphery, the Spanish Southern border. These investigations are intended to illuminate elements of the operation of the drug control dispositif and its far reaching (bio-)political effects in order to maintain and expand the space for thinking political alternatives.
Analysing arguably one of the most controversial areas in public policy, this pioneering Research Handbook brings together contributions from expert researchers to provide a global overview of the shifting dynamics of drug policy. Emphasising connections between the domestic and the international, contributors illustrate the intersections between drug policy, human rights obligations and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, offering an insightful analysis of the regional dynamics of drug control and the contemporary and emerging problems it is facing.
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive substance that has long been associated with indigenous Amazonian shamanic practices. The recent rise of the drink’s visibility in the media and popular culture, and its rapidly advancing inroads into international awareness, mean that the field of ayahuasca is quickly expanding. This expansion brings with it legal problems, economic inequalities, new forms of ritual and belief, cultural misunderstandings, and other controversies and reinventions. In The World Ayahuasca Diaspora, leading scholars, including established academics and new voices in anthropology, religious studies, and law fuse case-study ethnographies with evaluations of relevant legal and anthropological knowledge. They explore how the substance has impacted indigenous communities, new urban religiosities, ritual healing, international drug policy, religious persecution, and recreational drug milieus. This unique book presents classic and contemporary issues in social science and the humanities, providing rich material on the bourgeoning expansion of ayahuasca use around the globe.
After more than 450 years of European intrusions into South America's rainforest, small groups of people across Europe now gather discreetly to participate in Amazonian ceremonies their local governments consider a criminal act. As devotees of a new Brazil-based religion called Santo Daime, they claim that they contact God by way of ayahuasca, a potent psychoactive beverage first developed by native communities in pre-Columbian Amazonia. This bitter, brown liquid is a synergy of plants containing DMT, a mind-altering chemical classified as an illicit "hallucinogen" in most countries. By contrast, Santo Daime members (daimistas) revere ayahuasca as a sacrament, combining it with rituals and t...
'If you want to learn more about how psychedelics can foster such emergence and positively contribute to individual, societal, and cultural transformations, please read this important and timely book.' Mario Beauregard, neuroscientist, author of Brain Wars and Expanding Reality, co-author of the Manifesto for a Post-Materialist Science Infinite Perception: The Power of Psychedelics for Global Transformation is an anthology of voices from the front line of the Psychedelic Renaissance, co-edited by journalist Ocean Malandra and neuroscientist and Harvard researcher Natalie Dyer, PhD. After being culturally dormant for decades, a new mainstream global psychedelic revolution is upon us. This pio...
Although the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq suffered serious setbacks in the last years, it does not mean that the fight against Jihadist groups was won. Affiliates of ISIS from Afghanistan to Nigeria are still strong, controlling territories and launching devastating attacks. Regional allies of al-Qaeda are conducting assassinations in Somalia and Kenya and have the capacity to destabilise whole subregions in the Sahel and the Horn. Furthermore, new bridgeheads of Jihadism were established in Mozambique and the DRC. Though the number of large-scale terrorist attacks declined in Europe, smaller actions are regular. The aim of this volume is to provide a better understanding of the current s...
The Human Right to Science offers a thorough and systematic analysis of the right to science in all of its critical aspects. Authored by experts in international law and science policy, the book meticulously explores the right's origins, development, and normative content. In doing so, it uncovers previously unarticulated entitlements and obligations, offering new insights on human rights interconnections.
This book is a critical analysis tracing the operation of biopolitical mode of power in the global field of drug control. Through a series of theoretically framed investigations that relate current drug control policies to the broader frame of ‘vital politics’, it attends to the relationship of drug control, state of exception and democracy, exploring how pressures of resurgent sovereignty and neoliberal governmentality imprint on drug policy. Then, it turns attention to the relationship of power and knowledge, with a particular focus on the ‘evidence-based’ approaches that may at times sustain rather than challenge prohibitionist drug control policies. Finally, it looks at how the global drug control dispositif shapes life on one of Europe’s (internal) peripheries. These investigations are intended to illuminate the operation of the drug control dispositif and its far reaching (bio-)political effects in order to expand the space for devising more competent and compassionate public policies.
Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug in the world. Over the past couple of decades, several Western jurisdictions have seen reforms in, or changes to, the way cannabis use is being controlled, departing from traditional approaches of criminal prohibition that have dominated cannabis use control regimes for most of the twentieth century. While reform is stalled at the international level, the last decade has seen an acceleration of legislative and regulatory reforms at the local and national levels, with countries no longer willing to bear the human and financial costs of prohibitive policies. Furthermore, legalization models have been implemented in US states, Canada and Uruguay, a...