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Rethinking enhancement substance use: A critical discourse studies approach
Rebecca Askew1, Lisa Williams2
1Manchester Metropolitan University, Department of Sociology, All Saints Campus, Geoffrey Manton Building, Rosamond Street West, M15 6LL.
The International Journal on Drug Policy
|December 4, 2020
Summary
This study reconceptualizes enhancement substance use by analyzing how various substances are framed as tools for self-improvement. Reframing all substance use as enhancement can help destigmatize its use and challenge simplistic binaries.
Area of Science:
- Drug studies
- Sociolinguistics
- Critical discourse analysis
Background:
- Reconceptualizes enhancement substance use by integrating interdisciplinary research and critical drug studies scholarship.
- Examines how diverse substances are framed as tools for self-improvement and personal development.
- Investigates the discursive strategies employed to position substances for enhancement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the meanings and motivations behind substance consumption for enhancement.
- To analyze how different substances are positioned as tools for achieving self-improvement goals.
- To identify the discursive repertoires used in enhancement substance use.
Main Methods:
- Conducted 40 interviews with individuals using substances like ayahuasca, psilocybin, cocaine, alcohol, nootropics, Adderall, and modafinil.
- Applied the sociocognitive approach (SCA) to analyze language through cognition, discourse, and society.
- Examined how substances are positioned as tools for enhancement and self-improvement.
Main Results:
- Identified three key discursive repertoires: transformation, healing, and productivity.
- Observed participants using discursive strategies such as 'othering,' analogies, metaphors, and figurative speech.
- Found evidence of interdiscursivity, with participants frequently drawing on multiple discourses.
Conclusions:
- The concept of enhancement has broader applicability in understanding substance use than currently recognized.
- Reframing all substance use as enhancement or self-improvement can destigmatize its use.
- Challenging over-simplistic binaries surrounding substance use is a potential outcome of this reframing.
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