Benzodiazepines in the order of discourses: from object of science to gadget object of capitalism

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the phenomenon of benzodiazepine abuse, considering the way this substance appears in discourses constituted in approaching the lack of well-being in the contemporary world. This is a descriptive research of qualitative nature. Eighteen physicians and nurses working in the health network of Fortaleza were heard, in addition to nine female users of these services. The user population was restricted to females due to the literature underlining a prevalence of benzodiazepine abuse in this public. Data analysis using French discourse analysis showed how the drug affects the social bond, presenting different meanings depending on the place occupied in the discourse. It is worth noting that in the findings the benzodiazepine user sort of short-circuits, in which drug trafficking appears both on one side (as an argument for substance consumption due to the daily violence experienced by these women) and on the other (as it is a substance deviated from health services and marketed at drug outlets). This medication thus constitutes a gadget object – an object of consumption coated with the gloss of supposedly satisfying its lack. Given this scenario, it is crucial to ponder new public policies capable of surpassing the medicalization model.