Tracing the “Event” of Drug Use: “Context” and the Coproduction of a Night Out on MDMA
Contemporary Drug Problems – September 01, 2014
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Capturing the dynamic nature of drug use, a focus on "events" reveals critical insights into youth illicit drug behaviors. Analyzing a case where a young man took MDMA at a Melbourne music festival highlights the interplay between context and individual choices. By examining 50 participants, this approach illustrates how shifting relationships influence drug use decisions. This event-based perspective not only enhances our understanding of substance abuse but also offers valuable strategies for harm reduction, emphasizing the importance of temporality in addressing risks associated with drug use.
Abstract
In this article I propose that current research addressing the mediating role of “context” in youth illicit drug use can be complemented by examining drug use “events.” Events analyses capture the temporality, dynamism, and multiplicity often lacking in research into contexts of use. Drawing on Actor Network Theory, I conceptualize the drug-use event as a process of successive mediations, whereby shifting relations bring about transformations and actions including drug use. The methodological aspects of “tracing” drug-use events are discussed before an account of an event in which a young man takes MDMA at a music festival in Melbourne, Australia. Building on this account, I illustrate the value of this approach for rethinking how we conceive of contextual influences on drug use, and suggest how analyzing events could assist the project of harm reduction.