The social construction of the legitimacy of Christian healing in Abidjan

ABSTRACT

Based on ethnographic work conducted recently in the city of Abidjan where religious pluralism and medical pluralism intersect, this paper lays out the foundations of Christian healing legitimacy as perceived by some key stakeholders. Against the background of the legal recognition of biomedicine and traditional medicine which with religious healing constitute the three major healing systems in Abidjan, the paper explores the anchorages of the legitimacy of Christian healing which lacks such explicit legal backing. Data are collected through semi-structured interviews of about 240 religious practitioners, medical professionals and beneficiaries of Christian therapies in the city of Abidjan. The major theoretical framework of this paper is the Weberian theory of the triple sources of legitimation complemented with historical and political economy approaches which attempt to link the development and functioning of therapeutic systems in Côte d’Ivoire with broader political, economic and historical processes. The main argument is that Ivoirians construct the legitimacy of alternative therapies in general, and religious therapies in particular, by building on the perceived limits of biomedicine, and its inability to respond to all their therapeutic needs. From a medical pluralism perspective, the pluralisation of offers signals the plurality of needs which has determined in our Ivoirian ethnographic context the appropriation of biomedicine, the resilience of traditional medicine and the current rise of Christian healing.     

A Fatality Following Ingestion of the Designer Drug Meta‐Chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) in an Asthmatic—HPLC‐MS/MS Detection in Biofluids and Hair

A 20‐year‐old man, a cocaine addict and regular ecstasy user, with a medical history of allergic asthma died after ingesting half a tablet earlier the same day. The white tablet, stamped with a “smiling sun” logo looked very much like an ecstasy tablet and was sold as such. He experienced a severe asthma attack just after ingesting the half tablet and it evolved over the next few hours into fatal cardiorespiratory arrest. Biological samples, taken after embalming, were analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC‐MS/MS). Analysis revealed meta‐chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) in concentrations of 45.8 mg in a similar tablet obtained later from the drug dealer, 5.1 ng/mL in the bile, 0.3 ng/g in the liver, 15.0 ng/mL in the urine, and its absence in a hair sample (<0.02 ng/mg), which indicated he was not a regular user (whereas strong concentrations of MDMA and cocaine were found in the hair). Interrogated by the police after his arrest, the dealer said that he had sold the victim and for the very first time two tablets with the same “smiling sun” logo. The tablet used for analysis was from the same brand as the one ingested by the victim. The autopsy excluded other causes of death, while the histological analyses showed a large number of polynuclear eosinophils in the bronchial walls, confirming the asthmatic pathology. None of the other organs examined (larynx, liver, heart, adrenal glands, and kidneys) showed any distinctive signs, and in particular no inflammatory infiltrate. The death was the result of an asthma attack in an asthmatic person, violently decompensated following ingestion of approximately 20 mg of mCPP.     

Atropine Eye Drops: An Unusual Homicidal Poisoning

In March 2009, the body of a 51‐year‐old man was found in the boot of his car. The body had been frozen before being dismembered at the abdomen. The autopsy failed to determine the cause of death. Systematic toxicological analyses of the victim's peripheral blood and urine showed the presence of atropine, a powerful anticholinergic. Atropine was therefore specifically detected and quantified throughout the victim's biologic samples by HPLC‐MS² in the biologic fluids and UHPLC‐MS² in the hair. The atropine concentrations were 887 ng/mL in the cardiac blood, 489 ng/mL in the peripheral blood, 6693 ng/mL in the gastric contents (1.1 μg), 6753 ng/mL in the urine, and 2290 pg/mg in the hair. The blood concentrations measured in the decedent were consistent with an overdose of atropine, which was determined as the cause of death. The manner of death was a homicide with criminal intent.     

Optimists and skeptics: Why do people believe in the value of their single vote?

We investigate the origins of voters' beliefs about the value of their single vote. We construe such beliefs as a function of psychological predispositions and exposure to information about the competitiveness of the electoral race. We test this theoretical model using data from the 2008 Canadian federal election and a new survey question tapping voters' beliefs about whether their vote can make a difference. Our results show that sense of efficacy has a strong effect, efficacious voters being more prone to optimism. Competitiveness of the race also matters, but only among attentive voters.     

Detection of amitriptyline, nortriptyline and bromazepam in liver, CSF and hair in the homicidal poisoning of a one-month-old girl autopsied 8 months after death

We reported on the death by poisoning of a one-month-old baby that had followed the death of one of her sister (due to cyamemazine overdose). Exhumation of the corpse was done 8 months after burial and revealed the presence of amitriptyline. Parent drug and its metabolite were analysed by HPLC-MS/MS in positive ionisation mode on a C(18) analytical column using a gradient of acetonitrile and 2mM formate buffer at pH=3. Quantification is based on the main ion m/z=233, the common product ion of nortriptyline (MH(+), m/z 264), amitriptyline (MH(+), m/z 278) and nortriptyline D3 used as internal standard (MH(+), m/z 267). Amitriptyline and nortriptyline in the liver were measured at a concentration of 29.8 and 3.6 μg/g, respectively. Hair analyses revealed the presence of amitriptyline and nortriptyline at concentrations of 1811 and 43 pg/mg, respectively, while complementary analyses showed the presence of bromazepam in the hair at a concentration of 740 pg/mg, thus documenting previous administrations. The mother confessed later having used the drinkable form of the pharmaceutical LAROXYL(?) by pouring the content of a 20 ml bottle (at 40 mg/ml) into the feeding-bottle of her child. The milk was sweet but still bitter and following the testimony of a close relative, the whole family helped to feed the crying baby.