Stigma, Drugs, and State Control
Anarcotics Anonymous are an informal network of anarchists / radical activists who use currently illicit substances. We recognise the war on drugs as a fundamental tool of capitalist social control, underpinning imperialism and colonialism.
We are opposed to the militarised drug war interventions into our communities that disproportionately impact people of colour, First Nations peoples, sex workers, women and gender diverse people, street-based people, and the under-classes.
Anarcotics Anonymous use a diversity of tactics to highlight and challenge the atrocities of the war on drugs, and undertake actions which demand creative solutions for our communities.
We aim to create autonomous responses to the impacts of the drug war, informed by anarchist principles and praxis.
We invite you to join us in an anarchist deconstruction of the drug war, and to identify innovative actions to confront the war on drug users.
Date: Monday 17 April 2023
Location: C@talyst Social Center, 144-146 Sydney Road, Coburg (access via 146 Sydney Rd and/ or the rear of 146 Sydney Road (corner of Sydney Rd and The Grove)
Time: doors open/ food available from 6:30 pm (panel discussion 7pm, facilitated discussion 9pm – 10:30pm)
7:00pm: Anarchist/ radical drug user panel exploring:
- How prohibitionist policies have been used as an instrument of colonial social control and First Nations genocide
- Why and how radical communities can and should challenge the drug war
- How respectability politics inform attitudes towards drug use within radical communities and replicate the systemic prejudices of the State
- Challenging and deconstructing “addiction” and “recovery” narratives
- How the State uses prohibition to inform institutional responses to intersectional communities
- What could a radical response to drug use look like free of State-control and interference?
9:00pm: Join a facilitated discussion that asks:
- Does harm reduction ultimately perpetuate prohibition?
- Is positioning drug use as a “disease” the liberatory framework we’ve been sold?
- Recognising and purging our own self-oppression and internalized shame around substance use
- How do we create autonomous programs and initiatives to care for each other?
- Explore diverse tactics and actions that directly challenge drug war policing and policies
- Create meaningful intersectional radical movements that actively involve solidarity with drug users
Free entry
Vegan food available from 6:30pm onwards
Ground – level accessibility
Public transport: Tram 19 (Stop # 30, corner The Avenue/ Sydney Rd) , Train (Upfield Line, Moreland Station)
Wear warm clothes as the venue can get chilly (if necessary, blankets will be available)
