Drug Abuse: Law and the Governance of Consumption

Drug Abuse: Law and the Governance of Consumption

Measures to control drug use have changed over the years. The legal approach to drug and substance use has seen various transformations with those of historical periods differing greatly to existing frameworks. Above changes continue to attract debate whether really the system of governance is trying to solve a major problem or whether it is at conflict with itself. This paper develops a critical analysis examining the changes of historical times and those of the late capitalism and neo-liberalism times. The paper will rely on published, peer-reviewed sources as well as other credible literatures to create insight and develop knowledge on the topic. Of special concern for the analysis will be to evaluate existing tensions on neoliberalism, late capitalism and in the governance of psychoactive drugs. Drug Trafficking in Neo-liberalism and in Historical Accounts The rise of neo-liberalism saw the entry of free trade, regulation, austerity, and privatization. Most of these practices including free-trade and privatization have paved way to drug-trafficking, usually leading to the entry of drugs and substances into set territories (Sutton et al, 2000). Sources reveal that in Mexico, the drug trade is seen to thrive majorly on free trade. In a country where more than 90% of criminal activities go unpunished, the role of free trade remains critical (Thornton and Goodman, 2014, p. 3). Most countries where drug trafficking is common, the king pins and other lords are increasingly diversifying, usually taking control of big industries including mining, logging and shipping. Neo-liberalism was embraced to create fair margins and boundaries towards international trade. The legal barriers and constraints towards trade were eliminated in a way that promoted cross-sectional, entrepreneurial interactions. Nevertheless, such frameworks in neo-liberalism continue to undermine the very efforts to govern drug use and consumption. The rise of neo-liberalism has been expeditious to the extent of supporting major economies. However, such achievements are not praised since their success is tied to extensive drug trafficking. An expert working with the United Nations observes that drug money was the sole liquid investment that prevented the international economy from collapsing early in 2008 (Thornton and Goodman, 2014). The problem with neo-liberalism is that although it has opened doors to global communities and societies to interact in a profitable and in an entrepreneurial way, it has to a greater extent influenced drug-trafficking – usually creating tangled webs of both illegal and legal activities. However, digging deeper in this inquiry, it is important to note that with the emergence of neo-liberalism, drug trafficking is partly different to historical counts. However, such discrepancies in drug trafficking are minor and insignificant as discussed below.

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In neo-liberalism era, drug trafficking is controlled by well-established nationalists, politicians, and government officials. This h……………………………