Stigma and the Attributes of Upper and Lower Class Drug Users

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

The social construction of illicit drug use is often associated with low-income, racialized users, who are said to be a “hard to reach” group. To assess this assumption’s veridicality, we resolved to examine patterns in drug consumption and preferences in a different population of users, upper-class, and professionals throughout New York City. This study analyzes data collected from 50 in-depth interviews with waitresses and staff at high-end bars and night-clubs in each borough, examining their clients’ patterns of observed drug use. Because drug users from poor and racial minority groups bear the brunt of “drug addiction” stigma, this study aims to open much needed dialogue on shared attributes between upper class and poor drug users, and examine the differences that make the behavior a stigma dimension for one group, and not for the other.

Authors

• Amy Kerrigan, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

• Stephanie Villanueva, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

• Sarah Rosenbloom, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

• Francesca Spatola, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

• Argjentina Vushaj, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY