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The Criminal Addict: Canadian Radio Documentary Discourse, 1957–1969

The Criminal Addict: Canadian Radio Documentary Discourse, 1957–1969 This article examines early Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio documentaries on drugs and addiction from 1957 to 1969. Socio-historical and discourse analyses were applied to radio documentaries in this study. This article highlights how discourse about “criminal addicts” is related to conceptions of drugs, addiction, criminality, drug treatment, people who use criminalized drugs, and the professionals who regulate them. In this article, I argue that the lack of public drug treatment in Canada during this period is related to the social concept of the addict as a criminal first and a person addicted second. In addition, the diverse voices of people who used criminalized drugs such as heroin — that is, those most affected by drug prohibition and criminal addict discourse — were a clear thread of resistance throughout the study sample. In conclusion, I discuss briefly how the notion of the criminal addict has endured in Canada. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Contemporary Drug Problems SAGE

The Criminal Addict: Canadian Radio Documentary Discourse, 1957–1969

Boyd, Susan
Contemporary Drug Problems , Volume 41 (2): 32 – Jun 1, 2014
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References (61)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© 2014 SAGE Publications
ISSN
0091-4509
eISSN
2163-1808
DOI
10.1177/009145091404100204
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article examines early Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio documentaries on drugs and addiction from 1957 to 1969. Socio-historical and discourse analyses were applied to radio documentaries in this study. This article highlights how discourse about “criminal addicts” is related to conceptions of drugs, addiction, criminality, drug treatment, people who use criminalized drugs, and the professionals who regulate them. In this article, I argue that the lack of public drug treatment in Canada during this period is related to the social concept of the addict as a criminal first and a person addicted second. In addition, the diverse voices of people who used criminalized drugs such as heroin — that is, those most affected by drug prohibition and criminal addict discourse — were a clear thread of resistance throughout the study sample. In conclusion, I discuss briefly how the notion of the criminal addict has endured in Canada.

Journal

Contemporary Drug Problems – SAGE

Published: Jun 1, 2014

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