“Problematic Intoxications”: Conceptualizing “Abuse” of Illicit Drugs in Postwar Social Treatment Legislation in Finland

Abstract

This article analyzes conceptualizations of “drug abuse” in the Finnish postwar parliamentary committees and debates that, in 1961, resulted in the first law for treatment of both alcohol and drug abuse problems. How was the abuse of narcotic drugs viewed as a new problem that merited new solutions? How was abuse of drugs regarded as similar to abuse of alcohol? And how were the conceptual problems solved in this process? The analysis is influenced by theories of conceptual history and focuses on committee reports, parliamentary debates, and postwar research. While abuse of narcotic drugs was a much smaller problem, it was conceived of as more dramatic and, through intoxication, linked to similar social problems as alcohol abuse. The focus on intoxication as a common denominator is shown in the later conceptual development in the substance abuse field in Finland: “päihdehuolto” = care of intoxicant users.