Medicine, drug addiction and its treatment in Finland between 1965 and 2005
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23990/sa.3918Abstract
The discussion concerning the treatment of drug addiction in Finland during the past twenty years has largely focused on substitution treatment of opioid addiction. In this article, changes between years 1965 and 2005 in the medical discourse on addiction and in medical methods of treatment of drug addiction that contributed to the acceptance of substitution treatments are discussed. The data mainly consisted of texts published in two Finnish medical journals: Suomen Lääkärilehti and Duodecim. The analysis is based on the methodological tools of historical research developed by Michel Foucault. The breakthrough of substitution treatments in Finland is seen as a part of biologisation of psychiatry and the increasing demands in medicine to standardize treatment practices and define diseases as specific entities.
