Nonproblematic Illegal Drug Use

• DOI: 10.1177/0022042614559842
• Published date: 01 April 2015
• Date: 01 April 2015
• Author: Olga S. Cruz
• Subject Matter: Articles

Journal of Drug Issues

2015, Vol. 45(2) 133 –150

© The Author(s) 2014

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DOI: 10.1177/0022042614559842

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Article

Nonproblematic Illegal Drug Use:

Drug Use Management Strategies

in a Portuguese Sample

Olga S. Cruz1

Abstract

Given the scant knowledge regarding illicit drug users who maintain an overall conventional

lifestyle, we aimed to develop a conceptual framework to understand how they manage to

keep their drug use nonproblematic. We were interested in the individual’s experiential

component, so we interviewed nonproblematic, ex-problematic and problematic Portuguese

drug users. The conceptual framework was developed through the first group’s data and then

validated through a new consultation with these participants and a triangulation of sources and

methodologies (observation). Findings show that some subjects managed to keep their drug

use nonproblematic through ongoing self-regulation as a result of cost-benefit analysis and drug

use management strategies. These strategies resulted mainly from the users’ characteristics,

the quality of drug using experiences, and experiences with other users. The importance of this

study is in recognizing that nonproblematic drug use exists and that therein may lie important

clues on how to minimize problematic use.

Keywords

illegal drugs, nonproblematic illegal drug use, problematic illegal drug use, harm reduction

In Portugal, as in most of the Western world, the social and academic discussion of drug use has

focused on its negative aspects rather than on its positive ones. The first theoretical models for

controlling drug use began to materialize through legal-political and clinical-psychological

frameworks (Bourgois, 2000; Romaní, 2003), in the beginning of the 19th century. These models

depicted the social construction of drug use as a problem, either as crime/deviance or as an ill-

ness. Furthermore, these models were the basis for the prohibitionist policies (Fernandes, 2009;

Quintas, 2006; Romaní, 2003) that originated mostly in North America and have expanded to,

and persist in, most Western countries.

Presently, the pleasurable and hedonistic aspects of using psychoactive substances are meekly

discussed (Galhardo, Cardoso, & Marques, 2006; Hunt, Evans, Moloney, & Bailey, 2009; Smith

& Smith, 2005; Stevens, 2007). However, over the last two decades, there has been an increase

in studies that focus on drug use experiences that do not fit the abundantly described problematic

patterns. These studies, among others, focus on the normalization of the use of some illegal drugs

1University Institute of Maia–ISMAI, Portugal

Corresponding Author:

Olga S. Cruz, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University Institute of Maia–ISMAI, Av. Carlos Oliveira

Campos, Castêlo da Maia, 4475-690, Avioso S. Pedro, Portugal.

Email: olgasouzacruz@gmail.com

559842JODXXX10.1177/0022042614559842Journal of Drug IssuesCruz

research-article2014

134 Journal of Drug Issues 45(2)

(Parker, Williams, & Aldridge, 2002) and on recreational drug uses (Aldridge, Measham, &

Williams, 2011; Buchanan & Young, 2000; Caiata-Zufferey, 2012; Calado, 2006; Calafat,

Gómez, Juan, & Becoña, 2007; Carvalho, 2007; Galhardo et al., 2006; Observatório Europeu da

Droga e da Toxicodependência/European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction

[OEDT], 2009, 2013; Reneau, Nicholson, White, & Duncan, 2000; San Julián & Valenzuela,

2009). They also focus on patterns of drug use that are defined as functional (Smith & Smith,

2005), nondependent (Keene, 2001), healthy (Whiteacre & Pepinsky, 2002), and nonproblematic

(Nicholson, Duncan, White, & Watkins, 2012; Pallarés, 1996; Royal Society for the

Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce [RSA], Commission on Illegal Drugs,

Communities and Public Policy, 2007; Soar, Turner, & Parrott, 2006).

Alternative Patterns of Illegal Drug Use

The studies that describe drug users and drug use patterns that do not fit the traditional pro-

files of the drug addict or junkie have strengthened the idea that drug use and users can be

extremely diverse, which in turn allows for a more appropriate understanding of this phenom-

enon (Draus, Roddy, & Greenwald, 2010; Gourley, 2004; Hser, Longshore, & Anglin, 2007;

Pallarés, 1996).

These atypical drug users are described as well adjusted in terms of family, work, and social

relationships and also as being able to integrate and reconcile drug use with a conventional

lifestyle (Aldridge et al., 2011; Caiata-Zufferey, 2012; Frone, 2006; Galhardo et al., 2006; Hunt

et al., 2009; Nicholson, White, & Duncan, 1999; Parker et al., 2002; RSA, Commission on

Illegal Drugs, Communities and Public Policy, 2007; Smith & Smith, 2005). Various studies

show that these drug users are frequently conventional college students (Gourley, 2004; Levy,

O’Grady, Wish, & Arria, 2005) or working individuals (Frone, 2006; Gourley, 2004; Nicholson

et al., 1999). Weekend partygoers who use psychoactive drugs are also described as socially and

personally functional people who very seldom come into contact with social control agencies

and are a far cry from the stereotypical problematic drug user (Aldridge et al., 2011; Calado,

2006; Calafat et al., 2007; Carvalho, 2007; Gourley, 2004; Nicholson et al., 2012; Parker et al.,

2002).

Central to nonproblematic consumption is the regular use of cannabis and the occasional use

of other illegal substances, mostly cocaine (inhaled) and ecstasy, which suggests that this tends

to be a heterogeneous pattern of drug use (Aldridge et al., 2011; Boeri, Sterk, & Elifson, 2004;

Fernandes & Carvalho, 2003; Galhardo et al., 2006; Hunt et al., 2009; Jacinto, Duterte, Sales,

& Murphy, 2008; Levy et al., 2005; Prepeliczay, 2002). Research suggests that cannabis tends

to be the first illicit drug used, usually during adolescence (Hunt et al., 2009; Percy, 2008), and

that it follows initiation into legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco (Maldonado-Molina

& Lanza, 2010; Pallarés, 1996). Typically, the use of stimulants, hallucinogens, and opiates

does not begin until early adulthood (Galhardo et al., 2006; Hunt et al., 2009; Kubicek et al.,

2007; Pallarés, 1996; Percy, 2008). Nonetheless, within nonproblematic drug use, it would

appear that drug use opportunities are strongly associated with parties and other recreational

settings, which are apt for using drugs and tend to occur in nocturnal settings such as nightclubs,

bars (Buchanan & Young, 2000; Galhardo et al., 2006; Hunt et al., 2009; Kubicek et al., 2007;

OEDT, 2009, 2013; Parker et al., 2002), and private residences (Boeri et al., 2004; Kubicek

et al., 2007;Velho, 2008).

Previous research has shown that most drug users never develop an abusive or dependent

using pattern (Keene, 2001; Nicholson, Duncan, & White, 2002; Nicholson et al., 2012; Pallarés,

1996; Pilkington, 2006; RSA, Commission on Illegal Drugs, Communities and Public Policy,

2007; Taylor, 2008) and that drugs are used mostly to provide a pleasurable experience (Hunt

et al., 2009; Pallarés, 1996; Rovira & Hidalgo, 2003; Velho, 2008).