Abstract

FREITAS MORAES, Maria Eduarda et al. Crack Consumption, Women and Compulsory Commitment: reflections on knowledge in the light of social representations theory. Psicol. Conoc. Soc. [online]. 2019, vol.9, n.1, pp.106-120.  Epub June 01, 2019. ISSN 1688-7026.  https://doi.org/10.26864/pcs.v9.n1.10.

The relationship of human beings and drugs is pervaded by conflicts and ambiguities. There is dispute among different fields regarding what we know about drug use. In Brazil, people who use crack cocaine have become targets of involuntary commitment. In this paper, we intend to reflect about the (re)construction and (trans)formation of knowledge from experiences of women who were compulsorily committed due to crack cocaine consumption. To do so, we carried out narrative interviews with three Brazilian women. The analysis was based on the Social Representations Theory. The narratives demonstrate feelings of ambiguity both in their relationship with the drug and in the experience of compulsory commitment, although the latter is perceived as a violent measure. They also demonstrate that the effectiveness of compulsory commitment is low, as it is disconnected from their daily lives. The (re)construction of knowledge is limited, since it is also restricted to openness for dialogue and otherness in the context of commitment and in our society. The subjective experience of violence which the participants went through during compulsory commitment results in the reproduction of an authoritarian and individualistic logic of everyday relationships.

Keywords : Social Representations; cocaine (crack); commitment; women.

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