Some Observations on Repressive Values in Drug Treatment

Abstract

It is argued that pejorative societal attitudes towards drug users have shaped contemporary approaches to drug treatment more than drug treatment professionals generally acknowledge. Four dominant attitudes towards drug users are examined: that they are (1) unitary, (2) morally bad, (3) criminal, and (4) manipulative. Manifestations of these attitudes within the field of drug treatment are discussed. A conception of the drug user as socially disenfranchised and alienated is then presented as a more balanced alternative to these prevailing views. It is argued, finally, that drug treatment should renounce its adversary stance towards drug users and ally itself with the needs of patients in an effort to ameliorate their isolation.