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Drugs and Philippine Society
Drugs and Philippine Society is a collection of critical essays that look at drug use, drug wars, and drug policies in the Philippines from different angles, from the perspectives of scholars, social and cultural workers, artists and activists present and past. In doing so, it seeks to uncover societal prejudices about a long- misunderstood subject—and unmask the many contexts of how drugs are used and misused in the country.
Aside from a foreword by Sheila Coronel and a critical introduction by Gideon Lasco, the anthology gathers photographs of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs since 2016 and its effects on Philippine communities to further contextualize the urgent need to rethink drug policies not only in the country but around the world.
Aside from a foreword by Sheila Coronel and a critical introduction by Gideon Lasco, the anthology gathers photographs of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs since 2016 and its effects on Philippine communities to further contextualize the urgent need to rethink drug policies not only in the country but around the world.
407 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2021
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About the author
Gideon Lasco
8 books26 followersGideon Lasco, MD, PhD is a physician, medical anthropologist, and writer. He is senior lecturer at the University of the Philippines Diliman's Department of Anthropology, research fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University's Development Studies Program, and honorary fellow at Hong Kong University's Centre for Criminology. He is currently based in Mexico City where he is doing comparative research on COVID-19 responses, and language studies at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
His collection of essays, The Philippines Is Not A Small Country, was published by the Ateneo de Manila Press in September 2020, and his ethnographic monograph on human stature, Height Matters, The Making, Meanings, and Materialities of Human Stature in the Philippines, is forthcoming with the University of the Philippines Press. He is also the editor of Drugs and Philippine Society (Ateneo Press, 2021), a collection of critical perspectives on drug use and drug policy in the country.
His collection of essays, The Philippines Is Not A Small Country, was published by the Ateneo de Manila Press in September 2020, and his ethnographic monograph on human stature, Height Matters, The Making, Meanings, and Materialities of Human Stature in the Philippines, is forthcoming with the University of the Philippines Press. He is also the editor of Drugs and Philippine Society (Ateneo Press, 2021), a collection of critical perspectives on drug use and drug policy in the country.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 2, 2022
Drugs and Philippine Society provides us with an interdisciplinary approach in looking at drugs. At first glance, it may seem daunting to many, especially those who are not from the field of social sciences. However, Lasco does a brilliant job at collating works that are palatable to the average reader and insightful to the academic. The book's goal is plain and simple: question the very notion of drugs and our cultural, societal, and moral constructions of concepts that it produces. The book does an impeccable job at balancing the objective and the subjective. Articles from Michael Tan vividly and meticulously explain the pharmacological aspect of drugs while Filomin C. Gutierrez provides us with counternarratives created by the subjective mind of those arrested in the war on drugs of the current administration. With these, the book contains historical accounts, providing the readers with the needed context to understand the process that the Philippines underwent before it arrived at where it is now. However, the book also prevents itself from sitting in the ivory tower of the academe as it provides the latter parts to more policy-oriented pieces, providing us with critiques on current policies and their implementations as well as suggesting prospects for the future.
One could argue that the book is not interdisciplinary enough. I found myself asking where other fields in the social sciences are in this book. Surely, there must be an extensive amount of research in psychology that could aid the readers by providing more context on the individual effects of drugs. Political scientists would have had a lot to say in this book, especially since certain chapters tackle decentralization of power and participation of civil society. With this, counternarratives and nonviolent resistances fit the framework of everyday politics, a classic in Philippine politics. However, the book could only do so much; to its credit, it has done its job superbly. It has provided academics with a grounded introduction in studies for the war on drugs and its implications in society. One could only hope that this work becomes an inspiration for scholars to provide more ethnographic data on the effects of the war on drugs, especially on those left behind, as well as the praxis that society partook in as a reaction. But most importantly, Lasco and his colleagues have provided the normal reader with a collection of works that serve both to enlighten them on the implications of the war on drugs and to urge them to question their existing preconceived notions on drugs themselves.
One could argue that the book is not interdisciplinary enough. I found myself asking where other fields in the social sciences are in this book. Surely, there must be an extensive amount of research in psychology that could aid the readers by providing more context on the individual effects of drugs. Political scientists would have had a lot to say in this book, especially since certain chapters tackle decentralization of power and participation of civil society. With this, counternarratives and nonviolent resistances fit the framework of everyday politics, a classic in Philippine politics. However, the book could only do so much; to its credit, it has done its job superbly. It has provided academics with a grounded introduction in studies for the war on drugs and its implications in society. One could only hope that this work becomes an inspiration for scholars to provide more ethnographic data on the effects of the war on drugs, especially on those left behind, as well as the praxis that society partook in as a reaction. But most importantly, Lasco and his colleagues have provided the normal reader with a collection of works that serve both to enlighten them on the implications of the war on drugs and to urge them to question their existing preconceived notions on drugs themselves.
January 23, 2022
Drugs and Philippine Society is a book for our times. This book contains essays and studies concerning drug use in the Philippines and the "war on drugs" that has been largely polarizing due to concerns about its extrajudicial nature.
I am grateful for what I learned after reading this collection (I started reading this book with a rudimentary knowledge of the nature of drug abuse and also, I'm aware of the seemingly endless spate of killings that target the urban poor). It allowed me to understand the history of drug use and addiction in the Philippines and approaches on public health-oriented solutions rather than punitive and criminal. There are also anthropological and field studies on the lived experiences of drug users, police officers and LGU officials fulfilling their mandates, community organizers and lawyers who are helping drug war victims and survivors in any way they can, and the different approaches and beliefs of Christian ministers and priests in handling drug war cases in their areas.
The issue of how to address drug ab/use will always be up for debate. There are people who clamor for harsh punishments as they consider illegal drugs a menace. There are also those who call for a more humane approach as drug use is embedded within larger socioeconomic contexts that must be addressed first before we deal with punishments. Regardless of our personal opinions, it is always important to read more on these issues to gain a well-rounded understanding of such a complex topic. I'm glad I read this book and I highly recommend this to anyone with an open mind.
I am grateful for what I learned after reading this collection (I started reading this book with a rudimentary knowledge of the nature of drug abuse and also, I'm aware of the seemingly endless spate of killings that target the urban poor). It allowed me to understand the history of drug use and addiction in the Philippines and approaches on public health-oriented solutions rather than punitive and criminal. There are also anthropological and field studies on the lived experiences of drug users, police officers and LGU officials fulfilling their mandates, community organizers and lawyers who are helping drug war victims and survivors in any way they can, and the different approaches and beliefs of Christian ministers and priests in handling drug war cases in their areas.
The issue of how to address drug ab/use will always be up for debate. There are people who clamor for harsh punishments as they consider illegal drugs a menace. There are also those who call for a more humane approach as drug use is embedded within larger socioeconomic contexts that must be addressed first before we deal with punishments. Regardless of our personal opinions, it is always important to read more on these issues to gain a well-rounded understanding of such a complex topic. I'm glad I read this book and I highly recommend this to anyone with an open mind.
July 8, 2022
When Duterte claimed the presidency in 2016, he prioritized the prohibition of using illegal drugs, as according to him, it is the country's major problem. Since then, thousands are killed unconstitutionally in this brutal, yet ineffectual war. These killings are brought by the administration's ferocious and ungrounded policies, which are also empowered by the majority's ignorance (perpetrated also by the administration through "moral panics", propaganda, and exaggeration) to this social issue. This prompted the authors of this book to compile their researches and essays to bring light in this dim reality and location of drugs in Philippine society.
In a handy and one-volume book; historians, sociologists, public-health experts, phamacists, ethnographers, artists, religionists and other field professionals, and even vantage points from drug ab/users themselves and enforcers of war on drugs, present and offer an interdisciplinary and multi-perspective narratives and counter-narratives on the matters of drugs in Philippine context. In an almost inclusive approach, they aim to introduce this complex, sometimes scientifical, issue into the general consciousness of the Filipinos, who, I believe just like me, holds a rudimentary knowledge and scant background on drugs, yet so exposed to its public discourse because of Duterte administration's heightened attention and punitive campaign.
The social and human rights consequences of war on drugs (or let us say 'war on the poor') are horrendous and already inconceivable. The problematic treatment of drugs as an entirely "criminal problem" only produced counterproductive and ineffecitve policies as comprehensively presented in the book. We don't need war on drugs which aims to eradicate drug victims and its ab/users. From the book, "the view that drug use is entirely attributable to hedonistic, individialistic, and personal choice that supposedly leads to uncontrollable, violent behavior oversimplifies drug use. What the rhetoric sidelines is the importance of addressing inequality, poverty, discrimination, and other systemic social forces that lead to drug use, and stymies health-based approaches that have historically been effective." Thus, this book is urgent, important, and necessary to our times as it presents an extensive and actionable insights in redefining drugs, interrogating war on drugs, and reimagining drug policies.
~
As an average reader, I can confidently say that the book achieved its intended purpose. At first, it is really daunting to comprehend this popular yet complex issue, especially when the book introduced me to pharmaceutical and scientifical chapters. But Lasco ensures that this book will be deeply-researched and scholarly, yet it will not be too distant to non-academic readers. There are so much insights and substantial information worth noting in this book. Thus, I do recommend this to everyone, and I hope that this will shed light and awareness in guiding us to achieve justice and a humane society.
In a handy and one-volume book; historians, sociologists, public-health experts, phamacists, ethnographers, artists, religionists and other field professionals, and even vantage points from drug ab/users themselves and enforcers of war on drugs, present and offer an interdisciplinary and multi-perspective narratives and counter-narratives on the matters of drugs in Philippine context. In an almost inclusive approach, they aim to introduce this complex, sometimes scientifical, issue into the general consciousness of the Filipinos, who, I believe just like me, holds a rudimentary knowledge and scant background on drugs, yet so exposed to its public discourse because of Duterte administration's heightened attention and punitive campaign.
The social and human rights consequences of war on drugs (or let us say 'war on the poor') are horrendous and already inconceivable. The problematic treatment of drugs as an entirely "criminal problem" only produced counterproductive and ineffecitve policies as comprehensively presented in the book. We don't need war on drugs which aims to eradicate drug victims and its ab/users. From the book, "the view that drug use is entirely attributable to hedonistic, individialistic, and personal choice that supposedly leads to uncontrollable, violent behavior oversimplifies drug use. What the rhetoric sidelines is the importance of addressing inequality, poverty, discrimination, and other systemic social forces that lead to drug use, and stymies health-based approaches that have historically been effective." Thus, this book is urgent, important, and necessary to our times as it presents an extensive and actionable insights in redefining drugs, interrogating war on drugs, and reimagining drug policies.
~
As an average reader, I can confidently say that the book achieved its intended purpose. At first, it is really daunting to comprehend this popular yet complex issue, especially when the book introduced me to pharmaceutical and scientifical chapters. But Lasco ensures that this book will be deeply-researched and scholarly, yet it will not be too distant to non-academic readers. There are so much insights and substantial information worth noting in this book. Thus, I do recommend this to everyone, and I hope that this will shed light and awareness in guiding us to achieve justice and a humane society.
August 28, 2023
Very comprehensive and timely! I would compare Drugs and Philippine society to Karl Marx in its documentation of drug policy in the Philippines as the latter is to capitalism. This book covers a wide range of everything about ‘drugs’ in the Philippines. It delved into drugs from its widespread use in celebrations and rituals dating precolonial, to monopoly during the European advent, leading to criminalization being the rationale of the previous regime’s war against the poor. What became the most impactful to me was the chapter on Prof. Tan’s The Construction of Drug Addiction and the Addict that conversed on the honing of stigma towards specific psychoactive substances when many over-the-counter ones produce similar effects and are, as well, objects of “addiction” as defined by standards. How is drug addiction perceived and why are state-sanctioned initiatives to curtail it target mostly the lower classes?
This book collected narratives, interviews, and studies from different perspectives that are not often overtly broadcasted in public news, whose information is often consulted from the police and other agents of the state. In this book, the reader is offered different narratives and perspectives, with many the ones from the condemned “addicts”, and allowed to regard these personalities as victims of not just a faulty justice system but a bigger problem concerning public health.
The issue of drug use must be faced with sensitivity to culture, history, and human life, dealing with people who use drugs in an evidence-based treatment and not of a penal populist approach. A punitive approach against drug use and supply neither abates nor reduces but only breeds modified means for its redistribution.
At present, the Philippines needs collective support from its people for the decriminalization of drugs and the reallocation of investments for militarization and the construction of more prisons, to healthcare and education. The present approach towards this public health problem leads to a war against people who use drugs and not what it originally stated the “war on drugs”. Without collective support from the masses, policy revisions will not ensue because, quoting from the book, how could the state support programs that specifically target the demolition of its own lethal schemes?
For those interested in drug policy and the political atmosphere in and towards drug use in the Philippines, this is a good read.
This book collected narratives, interviews, and studies from different perspectives that are not often overtly broadcasted in public news, whose information is often consulted from the police and other agents of the state. In this book, the reader is offered different narratives and perspectives, with many the ones from the condemned “addicts”, and allowed to regard these personalities as victims of not just a faulty justice system but a bigger problem concerning public health.
The issue of drug use must be faced with sensitivity to culture, history, and human life, dealing with people who use drugs in an evidence-based treatment and not of a penal populist approach. A punitive approach against drug use and supply neither abates nor reduces but only breeds modified means for its redistribution.
At present, the Philippines needs collective support from its people for the decriminalization of drugs and the reallocation of investments for militarization and the construction of more prisons, to healthcare and education. The present approach towards this public health problem leads to a war against people who use drugs and not what it originally stated the “war on drugs”. Without collective support from the masses, policy revisions will not ensue because, quoting from the book, how could the state support programs that specifically target the demolition of its own lethal schemes?
For those interested in drug policy and the political atmosphere in and towards drug use in the Philippines, this is a good read.
October 21, 2022
In understanding the prevalence of narcotics in Philippine society, this compilation edited by Lasco gives us a deeper understanding of why Filipinos are plunged into darkness and how it must be overcome through rehabilitation instead of militaristic raids, as seen in Duterte's war on drugs campaign. One particular essay, "Rizal the User" written by the historian Ambeth Ocampo, talks about how the national hero, Jose Rizal, had acknowledged experimenting with cannabis in 1887 and could have ended up as another victim of the drug war of modern times. This viewpoint makes us wonder if the noted patriots like Rizal even tried narcotics at one point in their life, why has it blown out of proportion today?
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews