[Modalities of drug consumption among male prostitutes]

This article deals with the modalities of licit and illicit drug consumption among male prostitutes and the meanings attributed to them. It is an account of a research carried out with a questionnaire, among 252 prostitutes (124 transvestites and 128 hustlers), of which 30 (15 of each category) agreed to an in depth interview. According to the quantitative data, 79% regularly consumed alcohol, 75% tobacco, and 56% cannabis. During the 30 days preceding the research, 14 declared to have used sleeping pills, 13% poppers, 8% cocaine, and 7% ecstasy. However, the interviews showed that not all of them shared the same views on the different substances and that many different consumption logics could be detected, pointing to different perceptions according to the context in which consumption occurred and their position in regard to prostitution.