When States Prohibit: the politics of drugs and ‘addiction’ across the Mediterranean

The project tackles the question of what happens when states prohibit mind-altering drugs, taking the case of Italy and Lebanon since the ‘psychoactive 1960s’ and the outset of the ‘war on drugs’. It explores the modern history of drugs, their prohibition and the practice ‘addiction’ recovery.

In his seminal contribution, David Musto referred to drug prohibition as The American Disease. Following Musto’s work, revisionist studies have emerged in other regions of the world. One region that had been left out of this picture is the Mediterranean. The dearth of scholarship about illicit drugs remains however intellectually unjustified.

The region has historically adopted staunch prohibitionist policies.

It is currently experiencing the highest surge in drug use worldwide, witnessing a surge in HIV/AIDS contagion caused by dangerous consumption patterns.

Italy has seen unprecedented levels of heroin overdoses since 2013, whereas Lebanon has become a new hub for synthetic drug production amidst the destabilizing effect of the Syrian civil war (2011-20…).

In both countries, the fight against drugs and the demand for recovery for ‘addiction’ have influenced state-society relations over the last five decades.

In light of this, the project will:1)Study drug consumption from the ‘psychoactive revolution’ of the 1960s through moments of historical ruptures and changing public ethics under the ‘War on Drugs;2)Analyse the development of prohibitionist policies and governmental practices within the context of the ‘War on Drugs’;3)Deconstruct the symbiotic connection between drug prohibition and the biomedical category of ‘addiction’, a fact that had ethical, political and health-related effects; 4)Investigate the grassroots, religious/spiritual forms of ‘addiction recovery’ and their impact on political life;5)Theorise the Mediterranean drug ecology as a geo-cultural space in interdisciplinary approaches to health and security.