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

Abstract

Methamphetamine (or “meth”), a central nervous system stimulant, has been constructed as a dangerous drug with certain and extreme consequences. Incomplete and sometimes inaccurate portrayals, while aimed at preventing the initiation of use, stigmatize those who do use. Using data from in-depth, qualitative interviews with eight Northern Colorado women who are active meth users, this article explores how female meth users navigate this stigma through negotiation of group membership and management of information. The women in this study internalize and challenge the stigma: They identify as meth users and addicts yet view their own practices as distinguishing them from other users; and, they carefully control the extent to which they tell others of their use, even when contradictory to their sense of self and desirable relationships. These findings support the need for increased recognition and further examination of the role and enactment of agency among drug users and other oppressed groups.

Frequent experience of discrimination among people who inject drugs: Links with health and wellbeing

“…This may be explained by recent findings that women experience more mental health problems than men (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015) and are also more likely to be injected by others, increasing the risk of associated harms (Zahidie et al, 2013). However, females who use drugs tend to be viewed more harshly than men, often due to public perceptions of them as "bad mothers", and so they may be more affected by discrimination than men (McKenna, 2013;Earnshaw et al, 2013).…”

“…Discrimination may generate adverse social and individual outcomes in those discriminated against. Experiencing discrimination is especially damaging for PWID, as it is shown to happen in diverse settings including employment, health, and welfare and is perpetrated by a variety of social actors such as employers and co-workers (Earnshaw et al, 2013), health providers (Sarin and Kerrigan, 2012;Simmonds and Coomber, 2009), and members of the general public (Davidson et al, 2012;Gayen et al, 2012;McKenna, 2013). As such, discrimination can be a catalyst for ongoing denials and exclusions for PWID.…”

A narrative approach to studying symbolic boundaries among drug users: A qualitative meta-synthesis

“…In addition to personal style, functional users place great importance on maintaining their physical health (McKenna, 2013). Those who use drugs are aware of the deleterious effects that persistent drug use can have on their body.…”

“…Those who use drugs occupy a number of roles that can be strained due to drug use. This is most apparent in the way motherhood and parenting act as key boundaries distinguishing functional and dysfunctional use among women who use (Baker and Carson, 1999; Copes et al, 2015; McKenna, 2013; Radcliffe, 2011). Beliefs about providing for children and protecting them from harm typically frame the boundaries for mothers who used drugs.…”

“…Despite nuances of these symbolic boundaries, it is possible to describe some of the core features of personal boundaries relating to drug use. Functional users reject the status of junkie, meth head, and dope fiend by telling stories that reflect core differences between them and the others (Copes et al, 2016; McKenna, 2013; Ravn, 2012). Specifically, those purporting to be functional users construct boundaries along six primary dimensions: physical appearance, mental health, maintaining obligations, route of administration, motivations for use, and procurement strategies.…”