Drug Decriminalization in Maryland Through an African Centered Research Paradigm- Analysis and Recommendations

wellbeing (e.g., a green area in their neighborhood, access to nutritious food, a soccer
ball, an antidepressant, a gym pass). In theory, providing bio-Others with what they lack
will save them.
**Culturalist. This approach similarly erases social, economic, and political factors. In
theory, it encourages those in the health and wellness business to play a role by
establishing trust with bio-Others and intervening in a way that is culturally sensitive. If
culture is the problem, it can also be the solution. Examples of this type of mission abound
in Canada and the United States where federal programs to restore the health of
Aboriginal people involve a return to traditions including hunting, fishing, harvesting
traditional foods, dancing, and playing games. Here, interventions are performative in that
they produce the “Aboriginals” that they describe on the basis of cultural relics previously
wiped out by colonization.
**Biopedagogical. This type of mission does not question patriarchal or colonial
hierarchies either. Being taught to be well is often similar to being told to be well. Current
biopedagogical missions work on the premise tha the bio-Other has a unified self and a
fixed subject position. It assumes that, for such a subject, knowledge necessarily leads to
desired behavior and therefore that, as this subject becomes more informed about health
and how to attain it, he or she will behave in ways that lead to such health. The
biopedagogical approach draws upon a neoliberal notion of individualism that positions
the bio-Other as capable of, and responsible for, changing his or her lifestyle and therefore
in effecting his or her health. Underlying notions of “Buying Green” and “Going Organic”
or shows such as the Biggest Loser or Jamie Oliver’s Kitchen is the belief that a set of
historical, social, environmental, cultural, political, and economic issues can be put aside
in favor of a simple intervention meant to teach folks how to live life the “right way.”
**Participatory. Against the background of the health imperative, many experts have spent
time exploring ways to engage bio-Others. With this fourth type of mission, bio-Others are
encouraged to partake in decision-making processes leading to predefined objectives
related to health. Many feminists have drawn attention to the limitations of a conception
of participation that implicitly excludes women or certain women (e.g., poor, less educated,
racialized, queer, disabled, and so on). Other authors lament the fact that participatory
models almost always involve a hierarchy of knowledge where expert knowledge is
considered superior to non-expert knowledge.
Participatory missions also involve a “community” of bio-Others in need of saving, but
there is often a reification of this “community.” Indeed, the concept of “community” means
a shared identity of interest among some people, but there is little recognition of other
shared experiences linked to health status, cis status, size, class, race, ability, and so on
that intersect or conflict with place-based identities (Peterson & Lupton, 1996). Missions
that involve community participation (e.g., to change the food landscape in an area or to
reduce sedentary living or to decrease drug use or alcoholism) call upon bio-Others to
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