Book Review: G. Hunt, M. Moloney, and K. Evans Youth, Drugs, and Nightlife London: Routledge, 2010. x, 274. pp. $42.95. ISBN 978-0-415-37473-6

• DOI: 10.1177/0734016810387986
• Published date: 01 June 2011
• Author: Doshie Piper
• Date: 01 June 2011
• Subject Matter: Articles

patterns to better inform policy and law implications. The chapters maintain features that make the

book easily assessed to a general readership. Lewis is successful at providing a breakthrough piece

of work on how to effectively analyze and study zero-tolerance juvenile alcohol laws through a

grounded theory approach.

G. Hunt, M. Moloney, and K. Evans

Youth, Drugs, and Nightlife London: Routledge, 2010. x, 274. pp. $42.95. ISBN 978-0-415-37473-6

Reviewed by: Doshie Piper, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016810387986

In the book entitled Youth, Drugs, and Nightlife, authors Geoffrey Hunt, Molly Moloney, and

Kristin Evans bridge the gap that exists within dance culture studies and substance abuse studies

among youth. The authors’ present data that represent the views of the San Francisco Bay area elec-

tric dance music scene and club drug users. The assemblage of these interviews provides remarkable

insight into a subculture that is knowledgeable and often misunderstood. The information in this

book represents an interesting aspect of clubbing, the dance scene and drug use culture that are not

considered mainstream and looked upon as being something that needs to be politically regulated.

The purpose of this book was to give a silent population a voice, highlighting the theoretical and

policy implications of youth who engage in this lifestyle.

Raves and dance scenes play an important role in cultural studies globally and nationally. Prior

studies conducted in London, New York, Hong Kong, and Sidney portray the party club scene as

liberating and celebrated. This text contextualizes youth locally as part of this culture paying atten-

tion to the role of drugs and their presence. One of the influential aspects of this book is how it per-

sonalized the experience by presenting personal accounts of youth and their drug use in the club

scene. This book really challenged the traditional literature on youth substance abuse studies through

explaining how the youth are well informed and knowledgeable about their drug use.

As a result the in-depth interviews encouraged the young people to talk about their substance use

and the dance scene. This book offered theoretical and empirical insights into the sociological

accounts about contemporary raves, clubs, and parties in the United States; accounted for young

people’s experiences in the dance and drug using scene; examined drug use and leisure activity; and

emphasized the importance of conducting qualitative research within the drug field. These chapters

are categorized into four parts: (a) ‘‘Theory and methods for studying youth’’; (b) ‘‘The global, the

national, and the local’’; (c) ‘‘Drug pleasure, risk and combinations’’; and (d) ‘‘Gender, social con-

text and ethnicity.’’

Part I of the text consisted of two chapters ‘‘Epidemiology meets cultural studies: Studying and

understanding youth cultures, clubs and drugs’’ and the other ‘‘Clubbers, candy kids, and jaded

ravers: Introducing the scene, the participants and the drugs.’’ Chapter 1 examined the research

aspect that dominate the study of drugs and the dance scene. These studies employed exploring con-

temporary research on ecstasy and club drug research. Consequently, the authors discovered that the

extensive epidemiological research omitted agency, pleasure, and context which are critical features

of cultural research. Then in Chapter 2 the demographics of the 300 young participants are

described, which form the basis for the text. The researchers in this chapter examined the partici-

pant’s drug use focusing on six club drugs. Through narratives of experiences a typology of ravers

and clubbers is created.

The use of primary data were important due to the lack of comprehensive research relevant to

youth involvement in dance events. In addition, the youth interviewed expression if their substance

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