Have you ever wondered how drug use and supply impact our world? Why do people continue to use illicit substances? Why do societies vary in their responses to drug use/supply from legalization to the death penalty?

In recent decades, global discourse and narratives on drug use and supply have increasingly gained the attention of politics, the media, and the public. These debates take place in both local and global arenas, given the increasingly polarizing approaches to controlling drug use, models of rehabilitation, and the evolving nature of the drug markets themselves.

To address these complex and interwoven questions, this course is divided into sections. We begin with an introduction to global and regional drug use and supply trends to enable foundational knowledge. We explore different frameworks and approaches to governing drug use and rehabilitation around the globe, ranging from a historical understanding of the war on drugs, the death penalty for trafficking, harm reduction, and legalization of drug use and supply. We discuss the impact of drug policy on vulnerable populations through exploring the increasing global trend of women and foreign nationals’ imprisonment for drug trafficking using the case study of Southeast Asia. Finally, we discuss the future of drugs in our society by exploring subcultures of drug use, ‘drug tourism’, community development, and how technology, AI, and media shape the changing drug markets and policy and police responses. In doing so, we enable students to develop a deeper critical understanding of societal issues concerning illegal drugs, crime, and how policy and practices seek to alleviate them.

This course will develop a multi-disciplinary understanding of drugs in an international and regional context by enabling students to apply sociological, criminological, historical, and cultural perspectives to the study of drug use, drug supply, and policy responses to this 'social problem.' Students will benefit from a range of speakers, including academics who have conducted ethnographic research in drug subcultures, NGOs, and people who have used drugs (lived experience).