Khat-Chewing, Adiaphorisation and Morality

Rethinking Ethics in the Age of the Synopticon

Bibliographic Data

ID6051981
AuthorsSpencer Swain (0000-0002-2191-0041, York St John University, corresponding author), Brett Lashua (0000-0002-1526-3239, University College London), Karl Spracklen (0000-0002-6390-9022, Leeds Beckett University)
Year2024
Volume32
Issue2
Pages425-439
Publication date2024-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCritical Criminology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1205-8629 • E-ISSN: 1572-9877
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10612-024-09754-8
OpenAlexW4394979854
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited40

In June 2014, the UK Government made khat (Catha edulis) a Class C drug under the UK Misuse of Drugs Act. Based on limited evidence, this decision went against the Government's own Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and has divided members of the British–Somali diaspora, where khat is a popular form of recreation. The Government’s decision to ban khat highlights broader questions regarding how ethical legislation is implemented within post-industrial societies, exposing postcolonial power systems that ‘Other’ migrant groups through synoptic control. Based on qualitative interviews with members of the Somali diaspora and external agencies in Northern England, the research explores how this system fails to consider khat's complex moral position while framing users and those living within the diaspora as deviant

Criminology · Morality · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Law

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