Comprehending Drug Use: Ethnographic Research at the Social Margins

Studies in Medical Anthropology

by J. Bryan Page, Merrill Singer

Comprehending Drug Use , the first full-length critical overview of the use of ethnographic methods in drug research, synthesizes more than one hundred years of study on the human encounter with psychotropic drugs. J. Bryan Page and Merrill Singer create a comprehensive examination of the whole field of drug ethnography-methodology that involves access to the hidden world of drug users, the social spaces they frequent, and the larger structural forces that help construct their worlds. They explore the important intersections of drug ethnography with globalization, criminalization, public health (including the HIV/AIDS epidemic, hepatitis, and other diseases), and gender, and also provide a practical guide of the methods and career paths of ethnographers.

Genres: Anthropology, Drugs

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2010

Reviews

[Johan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting introduction to doing ethnographic fieldwork focusing on drugs and drug use. It presents a history of drug ethnography which is very interesting and which gives a lot of tips about the 'must-reads' of the field. I somewhat lack theoretical discussion about the issues discussed, the book is rather descriptive, with long passages quickly describing the main findings of various drug use ethnographies. The choice of discussed scholars and writers is very centered on North American research, although the chapter on globalization and ethnographic drug research betters the situation a little bit.

I get the feeling that the authors’ have a very good command of the field, but specifically the research done by well-known ’colleagues’. The examples discussed are very much centered around the research which was initiated in the wake of the HIV ’epidemic’ in the 1980’s among IDU:s and crack cocaine users, highlighting the authors’ interest in medical anthropology.

It is also clear that the authors feel very indebted to the drug research funding by NIDA and other US government initiatives, giving praise to these efforts every 20 pages or so. Maybe because of this, the book focuses a lot on the actual practical use of ethnography which the government (but of course also the study populations) might benefit from (rapid assessment, new trends etc). This might help those readers working with/applying for grant funding to drive home the message that ethnography is an important and valuable research method. But I feel that this focus also downplays the potential risks of the research being used in various ’biopolitical’ ways. Nonetheless, a good intro to drug use ethnography which gave me some valuable insights and tips about which books to read next.

[Kert Tandog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative.

[Jennifer J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This text is so full of historical facts and names and dates that it reads almost like an encyclopedia. But this was intended to be a text book, so that is really a strength, I think. I basically built a huge chunk of my reading lists for my PhD exams on this extensive bibliography. I do, however, wonder what branches of drug ethnography that aren't part of the Page/Singer/Agar old boys' club might not have gotten highlighted in the text. Does this book have blind spots? and if so, what are they?