Concepts and policies directed at drug use in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden

Bjerge, Bagga; Houborg, Esben; Edman, Johan; Perälä, Riikka

doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198737797.003.0003

Cited by 11 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…If market regulation had a larger impact, we would likely have seen a larger split between the prescription drug markets and the illicit drug markets, which would have ensured that prescription drug buyers did not see their 'legal-medical' products alongside drugs classified as illicit. These digital markets are in this way further jeopardising the Swedish government's dream of a drug-free society (Tham, 1995), which has manifested in a national drug control project and their attempts to establish a cultural norm of drugs as 'alien to society' (Bjerge et al, 2016). While Sweden still prohibits illicit drugs, including cannabis, there are now calls for policy change in online and printed media (Månsson and Ekendahl, 2015;Månsson and Ekendahl, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social media markets for prescription drugs: platforms as virtual mortars for drug types and dealers

Demant

Bakken

Hall

2020

DAT

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Purpose Internet use has changed the mechanics of drug dealing. Although this has spurred some initial academic interest in how markets and their users have been changing, the issue is still under-researched. The purpose of this paper is to understand how the organisation of the distribution of prescription drugs and other illegal drugs overlap in these online markets by analysing data gathered from observation of the Swedish Facebook drug market and its participants. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered during three months of digital ethnography conducted among Swedish Facebook posters supplemented by 25 interviews with sellers (20) and buyers (5). Screenshots and interview data were coded by carrying out an NVivo-based content analysis. The analysis is based on descriptive statistics of drug types, co-occurrence with other drugs, group size and the demographic characteristics of sellers. Additionally, the interviewees’ descriptions of the marketplace and their drug dealing or buying activities were included in the analysis. Findings In total, 57 Swedish Facebook groups that sold illegal substances were located. The groups rarely specialised in specific drug types, but were convened around demographic factors, such as specific cities and locales. The sales of prescription drugs were part of the overall activity of groups selling other illegal drugs, but they were more often sold in separate Facebook posts, possibly by specialist sellers. Swedish Facebook sales primarily concerned alprazolam, tramadol, pregabalin and clonazepam, and were sold by both professional and amateur sellers. Originality/value This study reports findings from a Nordic comparative study on social media drug dealing, representing the first in-depth study of digitally mediated prescription drug dealing outside of cryptomarkets.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social media markets for prescription drugs: platforms as virtual mortars for drug types and dealers

Demant

Bakken

Hall

2020

DAT

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“…Also important are regional differences e.g. Nordic more punitive (Bjerge, Houborg, Edman, & Perälä, 2016), and South America with more corruption (albeit we also note that this was evident in Colombia and Mexico but not Brazil). (Such a finding reinforces but also extends existing studies (Miller et al, 2008;Volkmann et al, 2011), by showing police corruption in such regions goes beyond populations who inject drugs).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Drug-related police encounters across the globe: How do they compare?

Hughes

Barratt

Ferris

et al. 2018

International Journal of Drug Policy

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“…(ibid). In relation to the above-mentioned three welfare systems, previous Danish research shows that different ideological views underpin these systems (Oute et al, 2015, Bjerge et al, 2016.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Lipsky, 2010). In relation to the above-mentioned three welfare systems, previous Danish research shows that different ideological views underpin these systems (Oute et al, 2015;Bjerge et al, 2016;Bjerge et al, In preparation). First, drug treatment is framed by health policies and social service policies which, respectively, frame regulatory prescription medicine and psychosocial interventions (Bjerge et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnographic reflections on access to care services

Oute

Bjerge

2019

JOE

Self Cite

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: to explore how gatekeepers’ ways of regulating the researchers’ access to knowledge in/about care services reflect the systemic and interpersonal values that inform Danish welfare systems’ daily workings at the street level; and also explore how the authors’ methodological experiences mirror the value-informed regulatory strategies that professionals and users themselves experience in their daily encounters in the same local practices that the authors have studied. Design/methodology/approach The paper takes its empirical point of departure in a multisited ethnographic field study of the management of citizens with complex problems in Danish welfare systems. Findings By means of Michael Lipsky’s outline of access regulation, the authors will analyze the following regulatory strategies that are identified during the fieldwork: “Gatekeepers’ sympathy and creaming,” “Queuing and delay,” and ‘Withdrawal of consent and “no resources.” The paper suggests that trust, shared goals and sympathy seem to be key to the process of getting access. Originality/value Despite principles of neutrality, equal rights and access to services in welfare systems, the authors’ experiences thus tend to support other research within bureaucratic and care organizations, which has found that interpersonal relations, sympathy, dislikes, norms and values, etc., can heavily influence timely access to services, tailored information and support.

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Concepts and policies directed at drug use in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

Social media markets for prescription drugs: platforms as virtual mortars for drug types and dealers

Social media markets for prescription drugs: platforms as virtual mortars for drug types and dealers

Drug-related police encounters across the globe: How do they compare?

Ethnographic reflections on access to care services

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