Mothers and Illicit Drugs: Transcending the Myths PDF
Preview Mothers and Illicit Drugs: Transcending the Myths
MOTHERS AND ILLICIT DRUGS: TRANSCENDING THE MYTHS During the past decade, media and medical forces have combined to cre- ate an alarming view of pregnant mothers who use illicit drugs. The result has been increased state control of these women and their infants. This in-depth study is the first in Canada to look at how mothers who use illicit drugs regard the laws, medical practices, and social services that inter- vene in their lives. Focusing on practices in western Canada, Susan C. Boyd argues that licit and illicit drug categories are artificial and dangerous and that the evidence for neonatal syndrome (NAS) is suspect and ideologically driven. She shows that women of colour and poor women are treated much more harshly by authorities, that current regulations erode women's civil liberties, and that social control is the aim of drug policy and law. The study highlights mothers' views of the NAS program at Sunny Hill Hospital for Children in Vancouver. Writing from a critical feminist perspective, Boyd exposes some surpris- ing social fictions - those that separate 'good' and 'bad' drugs, as they do 'good' and 'bad' mothers. SUSAN c. BOYD is Assistant Professor, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University. This page intentionally left blank SUSAN C. BOYD Mothers and Illicit Drugs: Transcending the Myths UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London www.utppublishing.com © University of Toronto Press Incorporated 1999 Toronto Buffalo London Printed in Canada ISBN 0-8020-4331-3 (cloth) ISBN 0-8020-8151-7 (paper) © Printed on acid-free paper Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Boyd, Susan C., 1953- Mothers and illicit drugs : transcending the myths Includes bibliographic references and index ISBN 0-8020-4331-3 (bound) ISBN 0-8020-8151-7 (pbk.) i. Mothers - Drug use - Canada. 2. Mothers - Drug use United States. I. Title. HV5824.W6B69 1999 362.29'085'2 C98-931829-X1999 362.29'o85'2 University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publish- ing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. This book is dedicated to my children, jade and Tam boyd. This page intentionally left blank Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS IX i: A Gender Analysis 3 Women and Social Control 5 Women and Illicit Drug Use 6 Motherhood 8 Maternal Drug Use 25 The Method: A Feminist Perspective 36 A Biographical Profile 41 2: Drugs and Mothering 44 Women's Perception of Illicit Drug Use 44 Illicit Drug Use and Mothering 59 Conclusion 72 3: Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS): Sunny Hill Hospital for Children 73 Sunny Hill Hospital NAS Program 73 Long-Term NAS Problems 88 Patient Release and Follow-up 94 It's the Drugs! 103 Conclusion 105 4: Social Services: Intervention and Regulation 107 Contemporary Social Services 107 Past Social Service History 114 viii Contents Pregnancy, Birth, and Social Services 122 Conclusion 132 5: Drug Treatment 134 Drug Treatment: Experience and Usefulness 134 Methadone: A Maintenance Program 142 Drug Use, Withdrawal, and Cessation 153 Alternatives to Current Drug Treatment 160 Conclusion 164 6: The Effects of the Criminalization of 'Narcotics' 166 Drug and Drug-Related Charges 168 Arrest and Prison 173 Police Surveillance 177 Prostitution 185 Race, Class, and Gender 189 Re-entry 193 Criminalization, Decriminalization, and Legalization 201 Conclusion 204 7: Implications for Policy Makers 207 Policy Directions 207 Conclusion 210 APPENDIX: Interview Schedule 213 NOTES 215 REFERENCES 219 INDEX 239 Acknowledgments Without the participation of all the women interviewed for this book, it would have been impossible to write. Their contribution was invaluable. I am also grateful to my supervisory committee - Bruce Alexander, Neil Boyd, Dorothy Chunn, and Karlene Faith - at Simon Fraser University, whose comments, direction, and support contributed to this work. I would also like to thank Ann Brainer for her patience and computer expertise in formatting this book; and Cheryl Anderson, Starla Anderson, Penny Mumm, and Theresa MacDonald for their proof-reading and unfailing encouragement. I would also like to thank Irit Shimrat and Beverley Beetham Endersby for their excellent copy-editing skills. I am indebted to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canadian Soroptomist, and Simon Fraser University; without their assistance this project might not have been completed. As well, I am grateful to the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada, who provided funding through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. I would also like to thank Virgil Duff of Uni- versity of Toronto Press for his interest and support in the publication of this book. Finally, I wish to thank my many friends and family members for their support all these years, and for providing me with the spirit to keep going. I am especially grateful to Gloria Watkins, Carolyn Crichton, and Otis LeBlond, whose loving friendship and support have sustained me. I wish to acknowledge my mother, Catherine Boyd, and all of my brothers and sisters, Diana, Jean, Robert, Tommy, Eddie, Howard, and my sister- in-law Suzanne, who have encouraged me. A special thanks to my two children, Jade Boyd and Iain Boyd, who continue to inspire me. This page intentionally left blank
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