Project description
What happens when states prohibit mind-altering drugs?
Drugs are a complex social and health problem that affects millions of people in the EU and across the world. The EU’s main strategy on drugs has been to reduce drug demand and drug supply. The EU-funded ProMENAd project will investigate what happens when states prohibit drugs. It will focus on Italy and Lebanon from the 1960s 'War on Drugs' to the present. The Mediterranean region has historically adopted prohibitionist policies, but it is currently struggling to contain one of the highest surges in drug use worldwide. While Italy has seen unprecedented levels of heroin overdoses since 2013, Lebanon is a new hub for synthetic drug production. The project will study drug consumption and the development of prohibitionist policies and governmental practices in the Mediterranean context.
Objective
The project tackles the question of what happens when states prohibit mind-altering drugs, taking the case of Italy and Lebanon since the ‘psychoactive 1960s’ and the outset of the ‘war on drugs’. It explores the modern history of drugs, their prohibition and the practice ‘addiction’ recovery. In his seminal contribution, David Musto referred to drug prohibition as The American Disease. Following Musto’s work, revisionist studies have emerged in other regions of the world. One region that had been left out of this picture is the Mediterranean. The dearth of scholarship about illicit drugs remains however intellectually unjustified. The region has historically adopted staunch prohibitionist policies. It is currently experiencing the highest surge in drug use worldwide, witnessing a surge in HIV/AIDS contagion caused by dangerous consumption patterns. Italy has seen unprecedented levels of heroin overdoses since 2013, whereas Lebanon has become a new hub for synthetic drug production amidst the destabilizing effect of the Syrian civil war (2011-20…). In both countries, the fight against drugs and the demand for recovery for ‘addiction’ have influenced state-society relations over the last five decades. In light of this, the project will:
1) Study drug consumption from the ‘psychoactive revolution’ of the 1960s through moments of historical ruptures and changing public ethics under the ‘War on Drugs;
2) Analyse the development of prohibitionist policies and governmental practices within the context of the ‘War on Drugs’;
3) Deconstruct the symbiotic connection between drug prohibition and the biomedical category of ‘addiction’, a fact that had ethical, political and health-related effects;
4) Investigate the grassroots, religious/spiritual forms of ‘addiction recovery’ and their impact on political life;
5) Theorise the Mediterranean drug ecology as a geo-cultural space in interdisciplinary approaches to health and security.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
30123 VENEZIA
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.