Chasing Dragons: Security, Identity, and Illicit Drugs in Canada

by Kyle Grayson

Overview

Chasing Dragons reconsiders the meaning of security. Additionally, it discusses avenues for resisting the insecurity produced by liberal states in the post-9/11 world. This critical approach reveals the pervasiveness of power in contemporary Canadian society, how this power is hidden, and the consequences for progressive social politics.

Canada has received significant attention of late for initiating a government-sponsored medical marijuana program and for its flirtation with marijuana decriminalization. At best, these initiatives have contributed to Canada being seen as a reluctant ally by Washington, and, at worst, as a potential threat. The result of this impression is increasing American pressure to adopt more robust domestic security policies. At the same time, the Canadian public sees itself as holding unique values that differ from those held by its neighbour to the south. Supposedly these values are best reflected by a distinctive security outlook which produces reasonable responses to potential threats, a sharp contrast to the manic actions of the United States.

Chasing Dragons challenges these presumptions of difference and exposes the security politics and policy that they make possible. Focusing on the issues surrounding illicit drugs, Kyle Grayson examines how discourses and practices of security policy actually contribute to the construction of Canadian national and cultural identity. This analysis is also relevant beyond Canada. Crucially, this book identifies the dangers of underestimating the centrality of race and geopolitics to civic conceptions of nationality in liberal societies.

Chasing Dragons reconsiders the meaning of security. Additionally, it discusses avenues for resisting the insecurity produced by liberal states in the post-9/11 world. This critical approach reveals the pervasiveness of power in contemporary Canadian society, how this power is hidden, and the consequences for progressive social politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442691704
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	04/12/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Kyle Grayson is a lecturer in International Politics at Newcastle University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     ix
Preface     xi
Introduction     3
Drug Pushing and the Simulation of Canadian Identity     3
Chasing Dragons/Chasing Canada     7
Discourse and Power/Relations     13
Neo-Parrhesia and the Discourse of Drugs in Canada     17
Methodology and Method     21
Genealogy and Illicit Drugs     28
Structure     32
The Theory/Practice of Security and Identity     37
Introduction: (Re)Thinking Security     37
Security and Securitization     39
Securitization and Criminalization     42
Identity and Security: Moving beyond the Via Media     43
Security and Identity as Performative and Performance     45
The Significance of Security and Identity     51
Understanding the Politics of Security and Identity     53
Situating Canadian Geonarcotics: Canada, the United States, and the Performatives of Canadian Identity     56
Geopolitics     60
Geonarcotics     63
Perform(at)ing Canada in Geonarcotics     68
Canada and the United States     80
Conclusions and Beginnings     93
Race and Illicit Drugs in Canada: From the Opium Dento New Drug Khatastrophes     95
Introduction: A New Drug Khatastrophe     95
Critical Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity     97
Early Canadian Nationalism and Race: The Canada First Movement     100
Race and the Limits of Diversity     103
The Social Gospel and the Regulation of the Canadian Body Politic     109
Biopolitics and Governmentality in the Early Securitization of Drugs     111
The New Right, New Racism, and Contemporary Canadian Biopolitics     113
Returning to the New Drug Khatastrophe     116
Conclusions     123
A Genealogy of the Body of the Canadian Drug User, Part I: From Criminal Addiction to Medicalization     125
The Body Politics of Illicit Drug Regulation     125
From Victim to Criminal Addict     129
The Sick Addict? Treatment of Drug Addiction and the Medical Community     137
Challenging Criminal Addiction: The Return of Medicalization     141
Criminal Addiction Reconsidered? Marijuana and the Discourse of Drugs in Canada     147
The Le Dain Commission     152
Responding to Le Dain     155
A Genealogy of the Body of the Canadian Drug User, Part II: From a National Drug Strategy to Medical Marijuana     158
The Politics of the Possible in the 'War on Drugs' Era     158
Decriminalization and Medical Use     161
The Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs: Mandate and Framing     164
Representation of Drug Use/Users     167
Representations of the Medical Community     170
Recommendations     173
Parliamentary Special Committee on Non-Medical Use of Drugs     175
Representations of Drug Use/Drug Users     176
Representations of Law Enforcement     178
Representations of the Medical Community     179
Issues and Recommendations     180
Findings and New Starting Points     182
(Re)Reading Canadian Identity through the Canadian Drugs Discourse     184
Conclusions     193
The (Geo)Politics of Dancing: Illicit Drugs and Canadian Rave Culture     197
Genealogy of Rave     203
Ecstasy     208
Rave in Toronto     212
Banning Rave and the Allen Ho Inquiry     219
Designer Drugs and Raves     228
Smokes, Booze, and Rave     232
Conclusions     234
Conclusion     237
Selling Fear, Buying Security, and Constructing Canada     241
Return of the Dragon     246
A Canadian War on Drugs?     248
Beyond a War on Drugs?     250
The Progression of Canadian Drug Law - Key Events     255
Notes     265
References     275
Academic     275
Media     287
Government and Other Primary Sources     304
Index     309