Beyond disorder, danger, incompetence and ignorance: Rethinking the youthful subject of alcohol and other drug policy

In Australia, as in other parts of the Western world, “binge drinking” and the use of amphetamine-type stimulants among young adults have become high-profile issues in media, policy and research discourses. In these discourses, young adults are frequently characterized as being disordered, dangerous...

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Main Author: Moore, David
Format: Journal Article
Published: Federal Legal Publications, Inc 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24610
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author Moore, David
author_facet Moore, David
author_sort Moore, David
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In Australia, as in other parts of the Western world, “binge drinking” and the use of amphetamine-type stimulants among young adults have become high-profile issues in media, policy and research discourses. In these discourses, young adults are frequently characterized as being disordered, dangerous, incompetent, or ignorant, and as either victims of their own “risky” alcohol and other drug consumption or as threats to society as a result of this consumption. In this article, I compare such representations of young alcohol and other drug users with thefindings of three qualitative research projects conducted in the Australian cities of Perth and Melbourne. In contrast to media, policy and research discourses, these projects suggest that in their drinking and other drug use practices, young adults are far from disordered, dangerous, incompetent, or ignorant. These findings, which are consistent with previous qualitative research from Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe, suggest the need to rethink the youthful subject of alcohol and other drug policy.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-246102017-01-30T12:44:00Z Beyond disorder, danger, incompetence and ignorance: Rethinking the youthful subject of alcohol and other drug policy Moore, David “Binge drinking ” amphetamine-type stimulants qualitative research Australia policy young adults In Australia, as in other parts of the Western world, “binge drinking” and the use of amphetamine-type stimulants among young adults have become high-profile issues in media, policy and research discourses. In these discourses, young adults are frequently characterized as being disordered, dangerous, incompetent, or ignorant, and as either victims of their own “risky” alcohol and other drug consumption or as threats to society as a result of this consumption. In this article, I compare such representations of young alcohol and other drug users with thefindings of three qualitative research projects conducted in the Australian cities of Perth and Melbourne. In contrast to media, policy and research discourses, these projects suggest that in their drinking and other drug use practices, young adults are far from disordered, dangerous, incompetent, or ignorant. These findings, which are consistent with previous qualitative research from Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe, suggest the need to rethink the youthful subject of alcohol and other drug policy. 2010 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24610 Federal Legal Publications, Inc restricted
spellingShingle “Binge drinking
” amphetamine-type stimulants
qualitative research
Australia
policy
young adults
Moore, David
Beyond disorder, danger, incompetence and ignorance: Rethinking the youthful subject of alcohol and other drug policy
title Beyond disorder, danger, incompetence and ignorance: Rethinking the youthful subject of alcohol and other drug policy
title_full Beyond disorder, danger, incompetence and ignorance: Rethinking the youthful subject of alcohol and other drug policy
title_fullStr Beyond disorder, danger, incompetence and ignorance: Rethinking the youthful subject of alcohol and other drug policy
title_full_unstemmed Beyond disorder, danger, incompetence and ignorance: Rethinking the youthful subject of alcohol and other drug policy
title_short Beyond disorder, danger, incompetence and ignorance: Rethinking the youthful subject of alcohol and other drug policy
title_sort beyond disorder, danger, incompetence and ignorance: rethinking the youthful subject of alcohol and other drug policy
topic “Binge drinking
” amphetamine-type stimulants
qualitative research
Australia
policy
young adults
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/24610