Becoming a prescription pill smoker: revisiting Becker
The academic literature detailing escalations in pre-existing substance use practices is primarily understood through a biomedical lens, which situates drug escalation as a result of increases in biological markers like drug tolerance and dependence. This article seeks to frame the escalation of pre...
| Authors: | ; ; ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2017
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| In: |
Criminology & criminal justice
Year: 2017, Volume: 17, Issue: 3, Pages: 340-355 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Keywords: |
| Summary: | The academic literature detailing escalations in pre-existing substance use practices is primarily understood through a biomedical lens, which situates drug escalation as a result of increases in biological markers like drug tolerance and dependence. This article seeks to frame the escalation of prescription drug misuse within a paradigm that situates drug use as a dynamic and interactional learning process shaped by set and setting. The data drawn upon for this article are derived from 41 qualitative interviews of young adults (aged 18-29 years) socially active in nightlife scenes who reported engaging in smoking prescription painkillers, sedatives, or stimulants. Results highlight how theories of drug use as a deviant behavior that is socially learned can be stretched beyond explaining patterns of initiation to also address the escalation of pre-existing drug use behaviors as users’ transition from one route of administration to another. |
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| ISSN: | 1748-8966 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/1748895816677570 |