Journal
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
Volume 131, Issue -, Pages 297-304Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.10.016
Keywords
United States; Pharmaceuticals; Drug diversion; Pharmaceuticalization; Non-medical drug use; Prescription medication; Enhancement; Adderall
Funding
- Wellcome Trust [079529/Z/06/Z]
- Wellcome Trust [079529/Z/06/Z] Funding Source: Wellcome Trust
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This article investigates everyday experiences and practises that are associated with processes of pharmaceuticalization and with practices of 'drug diversion' that is, the illicit exchange and non-medical use of prescription drugs. It reports results from a qualitative study that was designed to examine the everyday dimensions of non-medical prescription stimulant use among students on an American university campus, which involved 38 semi-structured interviews with individuals who used prescription stimulants as a means of improving academic performance. While discussions of drug diversion are often framed in terms of broad, population-level patterns and demographic trends, the present analysis provides a complementary sociocultural perspective that is attuned to the local and everyday phenomena. Results are reported in relation to the acquisition of supplies of medications intended for nonmedical use. An analysis is provided which identifies four different sources of diverted medications (friends; family members; black-market vendors; deceived clinicians), and describes particular sets of understandings, practices and experiences that arise in relation to each different source. Findings suggest that at the level of everyday experience and practice, the phenomenon of prescription stimulant diversion is characterised by a significant degree of complexity and heterogeneity. (C) 2014 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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