Moral panic : the old and the new

The theory of moral panics has been prominent in the sociology of deviance since the 1970s. This article uses this theory to trace the rise of the moral panic around the high number of heroin overdose deaths in Australian in the mid to late 1990s. It argues, however, that much of the panic was generated by groups not traditionally associated with moral panics, but by political progressives in the field of illicit drugs as well as victims, parent groups, and those who work with illicit drug users. In this way it was not a conventional right-wing moral crusade, but it was no less a moral panic. <br /

Freedom and slavery: constructions of ideologies in illicit drugs treatment

Freedom, autonomy, enslavement and coercion have a multitude of meanings which are determined by the writer&rsquo;s discipline background and intent, even more so in the area of illicit drugs&rsquo; policy and treatment. This paper proposes to begin to untangle the multiplicity of meanings which are attached to two contrasting forms of illicit drugs treatment, harm minimisation and abstinence-based treatments. Both treatment regimes lay claim to the high moral ground in this regard - freedom and autonomy are explicit terms used in the rhetoric of both. How this can best be understood and what sociologists can contribute to the debates about illicit drug treatments is the terrain this paper traverses. It does this by laying out the different meanings of the terms in social theory and then by trying to understand the &lsquo;truth&rsquo; claims of treatment proponents and using a Foucauldian perspective to critique these claims.<br /

Producing the market for alcohol : the Victorian example

This paper explores the way that the state of Victoria in the late 20th century, in common with other advanced liberal regimes, produced the space for a free market in alcohol to use Nikolas Rose\u27s term. This was in a country which had traditionally regulated alcohol production, distribution and retail sales for the health and welfare of the society as a whole.From the mid 1960s a series of Royal Commissions and inquiries recommended the progressive dismantling of regulations related to the availability of alcohol in the state. This culminated in the 1985 Nieuwenhuysen Inquiry into alcohol regulation which was given the specific mandate to produce the conditions for what has been termed the Night Time Economy. This paper will trace some of the historical, cultural and economic changes which have happened and how these changes can be understood as an example of providing the space for a market in alcohol.<br /