‘There But Not There’: Drug User Representation in High Level Drug Policy Settings

This PhD research by Dr Annie Madden critically examined how people who use drugs are represented, included or excluded in high-level drug policy processes at national and international levels (especially the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs). Using qualitative methods and an onto-political approach, the project analysed interviews, policy documents, and lived experience to show how drug user representatives are often made illegitimate political actors—even before they get “to the table.” Dr Madden’s thesis argues that representation is political, performative, and shaped by power relations. This thesis provides academic contributions to understanding representation, power and ethics in drug policy spaces, and advocacy for more caring, meaningful inclusion of people who use drugs in policymaking.

Dr Annie Madden is the Executive Director of Harm Reduction Australia (HRA) and a Project Lead with the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD).