Trauma, damage and pleasure: rethinking problematic drug use.

Area of Science:

• Sociology of drug use
• Psychoanalytic studies
• Public health research

Background:

• Drug use pleasure is often linked to social privilege.
• Impoverished drug use is associated with crime and addiction.
• Existing research on drug use and poverty often overlooks pleasure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the role of pleasure in the drug use of marginalized populations.
• To challenge the dichotomy between problematic and recreational drug use.
• To understand the social worlds surrounding methadone maintenance treatment.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative interviews with 85 service providers and clients.
• Conceptual framework using critical psychoanalytic readings.
• Study conducted within the context of methadone maintenance treatment in New South Wales and Victoria.

Main Results:

• Pleasure is reported from both drug effects (heroin, methadone) and social aspects of treatment.
• Drug users' narratives reveal pleasure in both licit and illicit drug use.
• The distinction between pleasurable and problematic drug use is often blurred.

Conclusions:

• Common distinctions between drug use types (problematic, recreational) are less useful than assumed.
• Acknowledging pleasure in drug use narratives can lead to new understandings of social disadvantage.
• Psychoanalytic perspectives can enrich the study of drug use and social context.