Exploring the Epistemology of Illicit Drugs

Publication Date

3-1-2015

Authors

Holly Linseman, University of New Hampshire, Durham

Abstract

In this essay I explore the epistemology of drugs in America. That is, how Americans come to know and define drugs and their users; and, in turn, how those definitions manifest in social institutions. I argue that at the present moment, the cultural environment surrounding the ways in which Americans define and experience drug use— whether it is deemed as acceptable usage or a threat—is determined by three main institutions. The first and most predominant is the criminal justice system, which operates according to a regime of “narcopolitics.”

Recommended Citation

Linseman, Holly (2015) "Exploring the Epistemology of Illicit Drugs," Spectrum: Vol. 4: Iss. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholars.unh.edu/spectrum/vol4/iss1/4