“Meth Circles” and “Pipe Pirates”: Crystal Methamphetamine Smoking and Identity Management Among a Social Network of Young Adults

Abstract

This article analyzes crystal methamphetamine smoking among a social network of young Australian adults. Ethnographic data were collected from 2005 to 2007 among 60 individuals, and semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted with a sub-set of 25 individuals. Fieldnotes and interview transcripts were entered into NVivo7 and thematically analyzed. We argue that although drug use may be considered "normal" among some social networks, the management of stigma associated with drug use is more complex and contested than portrayed in the literature. Policy implications are discussed. The study was supported by funds from Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council.

“If the Barn Is Burning, Let the House Burn as Well”

“…Drug users generally represent a marginalized group that suffers from criminalizing, pathologizing, and social exclusion (Anderson & Levy, 2003; de Lima Acioli Neto & de Fatima de Souza Santos, 2014; Green & Moore, 2013). In the process of identity construction, the users face a profound conflict: On one hand, they disregard accepted social values, but on the other hand, they feel ashamed of assuming marginal place in society.…”

“…In a defensive move, they try to associate with the in-group of users that is perceived by them as “better” and distance themselves from the out-group, thus transferring all the undesirable load outside the group of belonging (de Lima Acioli Neto & de Fatima de Souza Santos, 2014). Drug users’ tendency to protect their identities by distancing themselves from other users perceived as nonmoral, problematic, or dysfunctional, is well documented (Anderson & Levy, 2003; Becker, 1953; Green & Moore, 2013; Rødner Sznitman, 2008).…”

“The Meth Factor”: Group Membership, Information Management, and the Navigation of Stigma

“…This has resulted in an authoritative discourse that is undergirded by hyperbole, routinization of caricature, 1 and a moralistic focus that contribute to the moral panic that many scholars have identified as a "drug scare" (Armstrong, 2007;Ayres & Jewkes, 2012;Boyd & Carter, 2010;Linnemann, 2010;Linnemann, Hanson, & Williams, 2013;Linnemann & Wall, 2013;McKenna, 2011a). Past drug scares, such as the "crack epidemic," have been associated with the production of stigma and the subsequent shaping of policy in ways that contribute to the social exclusion and oppression of drug users (Bailey, 2005;Buchanan & Wallack, 1998;Buchanan, 2004;Green, 2009;Green & Moore, 2013;Murphy & Rosenbaum, 1999;Rödner, 2005;Reinarman & Levine, 1997a;Semple, Grant, & Patterson, 2005;Siegel, 1997). Despite the continued recognition that stigma has real-life consequences for individuals who use drugs (Murphy & Rosenbaum, 1999;Semple et al, 2005), there remain few studies that seek to elucidate the way(s) active users make sense of and navigate this stigma (Green, 2009;Green & Moore, 2013).…”

“…Past drug scares, such as the "crack epidemic," have been associated with the production of stigma and the subsequent shaping of policy in ways that contribute to the social exclusion and oppression of drug users (Bailey, 2005;Buchanan & Wallack, 1998;Buchanan, 2004;Green, 2009;Green & Moore, 2013;Murphy & Rosenbaum, 1999;Rödner, 2005;Reinarman & Levine, 1997a;Semple, Grant, & Patterson, 2005;Siegel, 1997). Despite the continued recognition that stigma has real-life consequences for individuals who use drugs (Murphy & Rosenbaum, 1999;Semple et al, 2005), there remain few studies that seek to elucidate the way(s) active users make sense of and navigate this stigma (Green, 2009;Green & Moore, 2013).…”

Narratives of Starting, Using, and Stopping Methamphetamine Use

“…Every time I look in the mirror and I see my teeth I'm really, really ashamed…if that's how ashamed I am and if that's how I judge myself imagine what these people are going to say, you know what I mean? (Interview four, Ben, Māori male, 31 years)In keeping with scholarship exploring stigmatised drug using identities(Goffman: 1963, Szasz: 1974, Ahern et al: 2007, McKenna: 2013, Green and Moore: 2013, the selfperceptions of this participant reiterated that drug users are acutely aware of the stigmatised identities discursively ascribed to them as a result of their drug use. The loss of teeth, in common with bruising from intravenous drug use or lesions associated with blood borne viruses, makes visible the physical characterisations that are essential in ascribing individuals' stigmatised identities: the 'tweaker', the 'junkie', the 'dope fiend', the drug 'addict' 53 .…”