America's war on drugs (and drug addicts) : a Foucauldian history

Abstract

This thesis applies some teachings and methods of Michel Foucault (1926-1984) to critically analyze the history and current practices related to the United States’ “War on Drugs.” By tracing the history of the Drug War and placing drugs and drug addicts in a less hyperbolized context than traditionally presented in the media and in drug war propaganda, it is possible to critique what can be seen as a war on drug addicts and to gain insight as to its hidden motives, relevant patterns, social implications and ultimately its effect on American culture and society and notably its deleterious effects among America’s people of colour and urban communities. With respect to Foucault’s concept of a race war and the notion that “politics is the continuation of war by other means,” the War on Drugs can be contextualized in terms of a discourse of perpetual war that rages even in times of putative peace.