The study seeks to problematize the negotiations and conditions of possibility for the inclusion or exclusion of young men in the process of health policy formulation regarding drugs in Brazil. Situated in the field of gender studies and proposing to discuss the relationship between masculinities and the use of drugs from an intersectional perspective, the framework considers that: the increased vulnerability of young males to problems with drug use and the difficulties in access and/or links to services also need to be understood in light of the literature about gender and health; and that the form in which debates about gender are manifested in health policies – whether in official documents, or in the understanding of persons linked to the elaboration and/or implementation of such policy– directly or indirectly influence the way in which these men are recognized by, access, and are accepted by the services of the Unified Health System (SUS). Drawing upon three episodic and semi-structured interviews with managers who participated in the elaboration of health policy about drugs at the municipal, state, and federal levels, and through the study of the documents cited during the interviews, we develop a genealogical text that seeks to retell the history of drug policy in Brazil, guided by the events emphasized by the interlocutors.
Gender; Masculinities; Drugs; Youth; Health policy