- Joined
- Mar 12, 2002
- Messages
- 4,408
I just saw this paper published and available open access, and thought many of you might find it interesting. What's been your experience of injecting drug use in your part of Australia/NZ/Asia? I think this kind of use in more affluent settings are minimally documented, but is absolutely happening.
Title of paper: Injection drug use in an affluent beachside community in Sydney: An exploratory qualitative study
Abstract:
Introduction
Social research on injection drug use has focussed on marginalised groups and communities, leaving a large gap in the field's understanding of how it is experienced in other settings, including in relatively affluent communities.
Methods
This research is based on fieldwork and 18 in-depth qualitative interviews conducted in suburban beach-side communities in Sydney collectively known as the Northern Beaches.
Results
Participants did not experience stigmatisation by local health services as the norm or as a deterrent to access. Drug acquisition on the Northern Beaches occurred among closed networks of friends and acquaintances, and injecting use rarely occurred in public settings. Police contact was minimal, resulting in lower levels of criminalisation.
Discussion and Conclusions
Unlike many of the participants featured in the literature, our study participants grew up in middle and upper middle-class households, typically experiencing comfortable childhoods with little to no exposure to injection drug use. In this setting injection drug use operates covertly within the normal rhythms of middle-class life, hidden in amongst the bustle of cafés and shopping centres, and through the friendliness of neighbourhood driveway and doorstep interactions. Drug use is described as common in the area, with injecting behaviours stigmatised in ways that set it against the ‘good’ families and neighbourhoods of this beach-side enclave. In contrast to much of the Australian qualitative literature which frames injection drug use as a means of psychological relief or a subcultural norm, our participants described injecting as motivated by the desire to enhance pleasure and social connection.
Link to full paper in Drug and Alcohol Review
Title of paper: Injection drug use in an affluent beachside community in Sydney: An exploratory qualitative study
Abstract:
Introduction
Social research on injection drug use has focussed on marginalised groups and communities, leaving a large gap in the field's understanding of how it is experienced in other settings, including in relatively affluent communities.
Methods
This research is based on fieldwork and 18 in-depth qualitative interviews conducted in suburban beach-side communities in Sydney collectively known as the Northern Beaches.
Results
Participants did not experience stigmatisation by local health services as the norm or as a deterrent to access. Drug acquisition on the Northern Beaches occurred among closed networks of friends and acquaintances, and injecting use rarely occurred in public settings. Police contact was minimal, resulting in lower levels of criminalisation.
Discussion and Conclusions
Unlike many of the participants featured in the literature, our study participants grew up in middle and upper middle-class households, typically experiencing comfortable childhoods with little to no exposure to injection drug use. In this setting injection drug use operates covertly within the normal rhythms of middle-class life, hidden in amongst the bustle of cafés and shopping centres, and through the friendliness of neighbourhood driveway and doorstep interactions. Drug use is described as common in the area, with injecting behaviours stigmatised in ways that set it against the ‘good’ families and neighbourhoods of this beach-side enclave. In contrast to much of the Australian qualitative literature which frames injection drug use as a means of psychological relief or a subcultural norm, our participants described injecting as motivated by the desire to enhance pleasure and social connection.
Link to full paper in Drug and Alcohol Review