HEROIN IN FRANCE. A SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE EXTENSION OF HEROIN USE AND TRAFFICKING 1968-2004 – HERO

The object of the proposed research is to examine the circulation of heroin in France between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 21st century. How, during this period, did heroin consumption, once confined to a limited number of restricted circles of consumers, become extended to a far greater number of groups and social milieux? How were the networks of distribution and commercialization set up? What effect did public policy (legal, sanitary and social) have on these phenomena? How, in a nutshell, did this “French epidemic” become possible?
It is useful to situate these research questions in their context. Though the cumulated effects of the diffusion of heroin and the aids epidemic constituted a social and sanitary catastrophe, this situation has been very little heeded and studied, and this for two reasons. On the one hand, the danger has been kept out of the public eye by the denial of the sanitary and social risks incurred by diffusion and use in high risk populations; on the other hand, the social sciences are concerned, little interest has been expressed for this recent, nebulous and little heeded historical phenomenon.
The project aims to reconstitute the historical context of the commercialization and diffusion of heroin by bringing to light the continuities and ruptures which characterize the history of modes of drug use, dealing and distribution. We will be particularly interested in the way in which proximities created by the crossing of social and cultural boundaries between apparently heterogeneous worlds have weighed on practice. Attention will also be directed to the influence of markets and economic organizations which have played a role in the distribution of products. Although, in view of the decline, in the mid-1990s, of the associated social and economic mechanisms, it might seem today that the dealing and use of heroin belong to bygone times, we feel it is reasonable to affirm that similar phenomena may well affect other products and other worlds of users.
Our hypothesis is that the rules which govern consumption form social processes which are both diversified and dynamic. As such, they are continually evolving via the influence of three types of actors and the “worlds” of which they are part : 1/ consumers and the “world of consumption” whose modes of proximity and distance determine the circulation of products as a social phenomenon; 2/ the world of suppliers involved in various aspects of the economic calibration of products; 3/ institutional actors and the policies which guide their actions.
Our analysis, which is primarily longitudinal, will be situated on three territorial scales: the first is transnational and particularly concerned with the propagation of cultural significations, and with networks of production and diffusion; the second is national, involving attention to representations, to criminal affairs and to public policies; the third is local and explores the world of users in large cities. We will focus on two urban contexts, Paris and Marseille, seen as significant both as far as drug use is concerned, as homes to laboratories, as centers of production and calibration, and as strategic centers for criminal activity.
The methods used include archival research, personal accounts and biographical interviews, family histories involving the circulation, commercialization, consummation and the valorization of heroin. Thus, we will be referring to secondary sources such as official reports, legal files, newspaper articles, films, fictional accounts, and so forth. We will also interview several generations of individuals directly or indirectly involved in the situations and activities under study. Lastly, we will carry out a statistical analysis of legal decisions on both national and local levels upon which we will found our analysis of public policy.