Drugs and Culture

What is a drug? Why are some drugs illegal in some places but not others? What is the significance of drug classifications? How do people actually take drugs? What happens when a drug is taken in new ways and in new social contexts? These are some of the questions that we will address in this module through an exploration of anthropological accounts of drug production and consumption around the globe. Through critically examining anthropological analyses of the drugs trade, both global and local, we unpack a series of questions around health and well-being, creating and sustaining communities (including communities of recovery), violence and everyday life and living with the forces of globalisation.