The legacy of ‘normalisation’: The role of classical and contemporary criminological theory in understanding young people's drug use

Abstract Since it began in the mid-1990s, the debate surrounding the normalisation of adolescent recreational drug use has attracted considerable attention and has tended to polarise opinion within the field. In this article two of the main protagonists in the debate come together to discuss its leg...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The International journal of drug policy 2009-11, Vol.20 (6), p.502-508
Main Authors: Measham, Fiona, Shiner, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior
Adolescents
Agency
Attitude to Health
Behavior, Addictive
Choice Behavior
Criminal Psychology - history
Criminology
Drug abuse
Drug use
Drug Users - history
Drug Users - psychology
History, 20th Century
Human agency
Humans
Internal Medicine
Life Style
Medical Education
Normalisation
Psychology, Adolescent - history
Research trends
Situated choice
Social Behavior
Social Control, Formal
Social structure
Standardization
Street Drugs
Structure and agency
Structured action
Substance-Related Disorders - history
Substance-Related Disorders - prevention & control
Substance-Related Disorders - psychology
Twins
Young people
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Summary:Abstract Since it began in the mid-1990s, the debate surrounding the normalisation of adolescent recreational drug use has attracted considerable attention and has tended to polarise opinion within the field. In this article two of the main protagonists in the debate come together to discuss its legacy. Focusing on the twin themes of continuity and change the authors begin by considering the relevance of early developments in the sociology of drug use, noting that this earlier work anticipated much that has recently been written on the subject, including the emphasis on hedonism and consumption in leisure lifestyles. From here they go on to critically reflect on the role that structure and agency have played in the normalisation debate, suggesting that the original thesis underplayed the role of structural influences in favour of a rational action model of adolescent drug use. In their more recent work, both authors have come to emphasise how drug use is shaped by an interplay between social structure and human agency. While some areas of disagreement remain, they agree that normalisation is best understood as a contingent process negotiated by distinct social groups operating in bounded situations.
ISSN:0955-3959
1873-4758
DOI:10.1016/j.drugpo.2009.02.001