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Metcalf McGrath, L and Beckett Wilson, H (2024) Stigmatised and stressed: UK cannabis patients living in the context of prohibition. Critical Social Policy. ISSN 0261-0183
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Stigmatised and stressed UK cannabis patients living in the context of prohibition.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (208kB) | Preview |
Abstract
UK cannabis patients occupy a complex policy space in which prescribing has been lawful since 2018, but the drug remains otherwise illegal. This article draws on qualitative interviews from the first UK sociological study of cannabis patient experiences. The findings demonstrate that contradictory policies; a lack of training for professionals; and the legacy of prohibitionist constructions of cannabis result in a range of harms, including inequality and stigma. We employ the concepts of ‘stigma power’ and the ‘stigma machine’ to situate these experiences within the UK's contemporary neoliberal agendas and subsequent commitment to prohibition. Patients are not passive recipients of this stigma, employing what we term concealment, (re)construction and evangelism, to resist these processes. Like many of them, we call for comprehensive professional and public education about the legality of medical cannabis. We argue that to reduce stigma and inequality, this must be accompanied by critical reforms of drug policies.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Cannabis prescribing; Drugs policy; Stigma; Resistance; 1605 Policy and Administration; 1606 Political Science; 1607 Social Work; Political Science & Public Administration |
| Subjects: | K Law > K Law (General) K Law > KD England and Wales K Law > KD England and Wales > KDC Scotland R Medicine > RZ Other systems of medicine |
| Divisions: | Justice Studies (from Sep 19) |
| Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
| SWORD Depositor: | A Symplectic |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Jun 2024 11:38 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Sep 2024 13:45 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.1177/02610183241262777 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/23619 |
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