AFully Func ional Au a ky:
Socialis Czechoslo akia and D ugs
KOLÁŘ, Jan: Op oblému, k e ý měl nebý : D ogy socialis ickém Českoslo ensku
[aP oblem ha Should no Ha e Exis ed: D ugs in Socialis czechoslo akia], B no: Dopl
něk 2018, 159 p.
I ahis o ian se s abou explo ing ap oblem o p essing public conce n, i is necessa y
o be on one’s gua d. D ug addic ion indispu ably anks among such complex p oblems.
I is asocial phenomenon ha ope a es in many dimensions: medical, legal, po-
li ical, social, cul u e and media- ela ed, and o anumbe o people, pe sonal. To
b oach he subjec in away ha a oids asupe icial scandaliza ion and o accommo-
da e he echnical demands o expe s om he ield o psychia y o c iminology, is
ali e a y and in ellec ual challenge.
Ican al eady say ha he au ho has managed o ackle his opic in adigni ied
manne so ha i is no an examina ion o acollec ion o cu ios o pe sons li ing on
he ma gins o socie y, bu ase ious con ibu ion o he pe cep ion o no mali y (and
de ia ions he e om) in socialis Czechoslo akia. The ecen ly published publica-
ion is he au ho ’s disse a ion,1 published wi h inancial suppo o he g an -aided
p ojec “The phenomenon o sel -des uc ion in socialis Czechoslo akia (1968–1989)”
comple ed in 2016 in he Facul y o A s o Cha les Uni e si y.
The publica ion is s uc u ed in acohe en and eade - iendly manne . I is di-
ided in o six chap e s, which comp ise h ee hema ic a eas, he i s o which is
de o ed o he changes in he ci cums ances o d ug consump ion.
The au ho places he oo s o d ug addic ion in socialis Czechoslo akia in he
con ex he socialis heal hca e and he boom o he pha maceu ical indus y in he
1950s. A e y libe al app oach o allowing he popula ion access o medicines, which
was based on he pos -S alinian p omise o imp o ing he quali y o li e h ough sci-
en i ic and echnical means, ga e ise o wha was known in Czechoslo akia as “pill
cul u e”, asocial si ua ion ma ked by an excessi e domes ic consump ion o medi-
cines (such as analgesics).
Acoun e poin o indi idual d ug consump ion in he 1950s and 1960s was o be
ad ug addic ion subcul u e eme ging a he end o he 1960s. I was ypical o he
d ug addic ion subcul u e ha i used d ugs no a home and indi idually, bu in
public spaces and collec i ely, in “junkie gangs”. The au ho ’s cen al hesis is ha he
you h d ug- aking subcul u e o he 1970s de eloped om he pill cul u e os e ed
by he gene a ion o hei pa en s, and also d ew on o eign inspi a ion, especially
he wo ld o he hippies. Acco ding o he au ho , he pill cul u e, and he domes ic
en i onmen , p o ided he ma e ial, i.e. syn he ic d ugs and syn he ic ola ile sub-
s ances ( oluene, cleaning agen Čikuli), whe eas he Wes in luenced he cul u al
and social milieu.
1 Jan Kolář, D ogy socialis ickém Českoslo ensku. Dize ační p áce, Filozo ická akul a
UK, Ús a hospodářských asociálních dějin, P aha 2018.
Jakub No o ný
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72 WISOHIM/ESHP 29
The second hema ic a ea is he ecep ion o he p oblem o d ug addic ion in he
p o essional ci cles, among psychia is s, psychologis s and c iminologis s, and he
way in which d ug addic ion was e lec ed in he legisla ion. Among he psychia is s,
om he la e 1940s o he second hal o he 1950s, d ug addic ion was a elic ha was
o e shadowed by alcoholism. The i s men ion o he occu ence o d ug addic ion
was iden i ied by he au ho a he end o he 1950s. The dominan na a i e o he ca-
suis ies conce ning d ug addic ion in he 1960s was one o ape sonal and indi idual
agedy, ega ding d ug addic s as people dese ing pi y, whose amily ela ionships
and wo kplace pe o mance a e oubled owing o he abuse o d ugs. Ag owing sel -
es eem o expe s in he ield o addic ology was mani es ed in he second hal o he
1960s by hei calls o es ic ing access o addic ion-inducing d ugs.
The s a e powe esponded o hese challenges by in oducing ap esc ip ion o
some p epa a ions, bu wha was symp oma ic o i was slowness in he esponse,
especially a e he onse o no maliza ion. Du ing he 1970s he d ug addic ion na -
a i e began o be domina ed by ana a i e abou d ugs being asou ce o dange
and iolence. The newly o med junkie gangs we e asou ce o c iminali y, whe he
iolen o economic, and heal h isks o he membe s, om unin en ional o e doses
o a ge ed sel -ha m.
Howe e , acco ding o he au ho , he d ug- ela ed legisla ion was no mind ul o
he ma e ial au a ky o he Czech addic s and hus p e en ed c iminal p osecu ion
o d ug addic ion as such. The police had o ely on he c iminal cha ac e o he li e-
s yle ci cums ances o he d ug addic s. The key hesis o his sec ion is ha , al hough
he s a e au ho i y esponded o he h ea posed by d ug addic ion o he no mal-
izing “wo k calm”, i did so e y slowly, and decisi e ac ion was aken only wi hin he
amewo k o he ‘ es uc u ing’ in he second hal o he 1980s.
The hi d and las hema ic a ea is he pe cep ion o d ug addic ion in he media
and he a s, speci ically in ilm and li e a y p oduc ion. O iginally, d ug addic ion
was p esen ed as alogical side e ec o capi alism, ela ed o unemploymen and
aliena ion, aphenomenon ha can only g adually die unde socialism a he han
h i e. D ug addic ion was, in sho , p esen ed as a“phenomenon alien o socialism”,
and his in e p e a ion was pe pe ua ed in he Czechoslo ak public space un il he
second hal o he 1980s when i was no longe conside ed belie able. Acco ding o
he au ho , he media epo ed abundan ly on d ugs as aWes e n p oblem. A some
momen s, in hei e o s o wa n young people agains he dange s o d ugs, he
media we e mo e likely o inci e hem.
Taking he example o ilm p oduc ion a he end o he 1960s when he issue o
d ugs in he Czechoslo ak public space began o be hema ized, he au ho shows
he de elopmen om he oggy ideas o ilmmake s and spec a o s abou he exo ic
Wes e n d ugs alien o he Czechoslo ak en i onmen (he oin, cocaine, ma ijuana) o
aspeci ic no ion o he eali y o he use o domes ic d ugs in Czechoslo ak indus ial
agglome a ions du ing he es uc u ing pe iod.
While he 1970s we e domina ed by ilm and li e a y depic ions o he gen e o
c ime and de ec i e s o ies, acase in poin being an episode i led Mimic y in he
se ies ‘30 Cases o Majo Zeman’, by he 1980s he e we e al eady some na u alis ic
pe spec i es o he li e eali ies o people on he side-lines o he socialis socie y,
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jakuB nOVOTný 73
such as Memen o by Radek John. This opical a ea, hough i may seem a i s glance
somewha ou o place in ela ion o he p e ious pa s o he book, p o ides ami -
o , which e lec s he ela ionships o d ug addic ion, s a e and socialis socie y. The
au ho concludes ha he p oblem o d ug addic ion in he pe iod o es uc u ing
began o be ap oblem o he socialis socie y, which co esponds o Pullmann’s book
Konec expe imen u [End o expe imen ].2 Thus, d ug addic ion was one o he ields in
which he communis dominion discou se ailed.
Iconside he au ho ’s app oach o be help ul and inspi ing in he way in which
he au ho deals wi h he in eg a ion o he explo a ions o expe cul u es, poli ical
leade s and a in ela ion o he p oblem o d ug addic ion. I is well o highligh he
b ead h o he sou ce base, as well as i s in e p e i e wo k and alignmen in o he
con ex o he social his o y o Czechoslo akia in he second hal o he 20 h cen u y.
As help ul is an enume a ion o he ca ego ies o medicinal subs ances and d ugs,
as well as hei e ec s. I should also be no ed ha his book is eminen ly eadable.
The only sho coming in he pee - e iewed publica ion is ha i was published
wi hou alis o sou ces and seconda y li e a u e. The li e a u e can, o una ely, be
ob ained om he anno a ions. The lay eade migh no e some con as be ween he
ease wi h which he ex is buil and he occasional use o English o an unexplained
e m ha is no in common use. Howe e , his is only amino ese a ion, which
does no de ac om he o e all posi i e imp ession o he book.
The book by Jan Kolář is ase ious and a he same ime eadable wo k ha should
no escape he a en ion o esea che s de o ed o he his o y o socialis Czecho-
slo akia, medicine o ma ginal social g oups in he second hal o he 20 h cen u y.
Iam con inced ha i has much o say, by din o i being easy o ead and opical,
o eade s ou side he his o iog aphic communi y, especially hose who a e dealing
wi h d ug p oblems in he Czech Republic.
Jakub No o ný
2 Michal Pullmann, Konec expe imen u: přes a ba apád komunismu Českoslo ensku,
P aha 2011.
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