Drugs and the Anthropocene

Illicit drugs are usually understood as a crime and/or public health problem. Yet drugs are also consumer products with supply chains and therefore implicated in questions of finite planetary resources. This is an area that has been significantly under-researched, and at a time of climate crisis, it represents a vital gap to address. The paper uses the idea of the Anthropocene (that the Earth is now in a human-dominated geologic epoch) to develop a new intellectual agenda. First, it explores the shared historical roots of the Anthropocene and the modern drug problem in the Industrial Revolution. Second, it argues for the necessity of a form of radical interdisciplinarity. Third, it makes the case for a new politics of drugs to underpin more sustainable approaches to the drug question. The conclusion points to the novel directions opened up for thinking about drugs and drug policy reform.