The Culture of Addiction
Core Elements in the Culture of Addiction
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Supposition (Key Theme)
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The culture of addiction and process of immersion into the the culture of
addiction serves to disengage the individual from society into a selfsequestered tribe of addicts.
Tribes
Seek out and build relationships with other people whose drug use or recovery
mirrors their own
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Create small groups within which they can nurture the rituals of drug use or
recovery
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Tribes can overlap, creating a broader social network of drug users who share
common goals and attributes
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Then again, tribes will also form based on particular drugs of abuse / drawing
war-lines so to speak
Drug Tribes
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Celebrated (alcoholic / tobacco)
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Tolerated (Marijuana)
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Instrumental (prescribed drugs)
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Prohibited (heroin, cocaine, club drugs)
Language
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The culturally enmeshed addict experiences a transformation in language that
parallels their progression of addiction.
Language changes reflect transition into and confirmation of one’s new
identity.
Language
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Mastery of language confirms membership, and separates us from them
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Language shift includes use of more slangs, profanity, symbolic words for
drugs, folktales, stories of hustling, euphoric recall of intoxication
episodes, stories of wanting to clean-up, but when cleaning wanting to
get high)
Language (contd).
Clinical Implications
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Language provides the pathway back to and away from addiction
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Thus according to W hite (1996) Addicts must relearn how to communicate
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Teach language skills / cognitive and affective
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Change the addict role
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Clinician must be careful of what language they use (avoid the hustle)
Religion, Morality, and Values
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When an individual begins a relationship with a psychoactive drug he or she
brings to that relationship a set of pr-existing values and beliefs.
For some individuals the immersion into the culture of addiction strips former
values and beliefs apart
Dr. Jekyll - Mr. Hyde
Religion, Morality, and Values (cont.)
Commit acts the former pre-addict personality would never dream of
Our former values become insignificant
Sometimes in the late stages the addiction that created the spiritual void may
lead the addict to surrender
This doesn’t happen to everyone
The Addict Personality in the Web of the Culture of Addiction
The Drug comes first
Everyone’s on the make
Don’t trust anyone
Don’t feel
Avoid responsibility
Every Interaction is Potential Hustle
Cultivate Excitement through Risk
Violate taboos
The Image is the Message
Cunning over Conscience
Symbols
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Collection of physical trappings
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Reinforce identification with the culture proclaiming identity and allegiance
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Addict become oblivious of their presence and more importantly downplays
excessive drug use
Individuals may also unconsciously downplay the danger of particular symbols
and symbolic play within their culture
Symbols
Symbols and Treatment
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Symbols reinforce or recall behaviour promoting drug use
This is frequently ignored in treatment
White (1996) suggests that a role for treatment is to remove symbols that
reflect addiction and replace them with symbols of recovery
Tribe Rituals
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When does drug use begin?
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Understanding patterns of use can help treatment providers mitigate
relaspe potential
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When does craving hit - around what activities
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Making the addict conscious of these
Rituals and Treatment
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Identify
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Understand significance
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Extinguish rituals / replace with healthy rituals
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New meaning / purpose
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History and Mythology
Tribes establish a history and folklore and pass it down
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Stories include heroism, fall from grace, how to use, how not to, tribal wars,
etc.
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Every famous personality who is arrested, who dies, provides confirmation of
addicts participation in an elite society.
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Straight cultural folklore against addiction confirms elitism
Institutions (Places)
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Geographic places (tribe dependent)
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Brings forth memories that bind cultures and serve as triggers
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Treatment (clinician task is to root out these triggers)
Dress and Appearance
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Change of dress change of 1) identity or 2) denial / hiding reality
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Most often change and dress and appearance relates to to decline in
self-care, hygiene and health
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Late stages of addiction - no one home to care how one appears or
presents oneself
Diet and Food
Addiction
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No fruits or vegetables
Junk food
Increase of fats & carbs
Barely any food at all
Music
Addiction
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Songs about using, hustling, or pimping
Social distortion story - linking two unrelated events together (musical stimuli to the
experiences of intoxication
Work and Leisure
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The world of work and leisure are transformed by the culture of addiction
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Meaning and Value Change
One’s job is only seen as a continued access to drug supply
Job last link to mainstream sobriety
The real task of work each day - “getting by”
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Elders in the culture of addiction teach how to “get by”
“Elders Teach Getting By”
Occupations and jobs roles especially suited for addicts
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Learn stories to justify absenteeism and tardiness
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How to use at work without getting caught
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Avoiding detection to not get caught
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Engineered stories of previous firing / job loss
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Method of beating company’s drug testing system
http://livesafely.org/personal-freedom/how-to-beat-a-urine-test/
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Creative use of accidents / medical benefits / disability / W CB
Leisure Time: A Three Stage Transformation
Literature
Addiction
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First-person accounts of addiction
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Technical books on drugs and their effects
Law books (provide detailed information on drug control laws, one’s rights if
arrested
Family
Addiction
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Initially a safety net
Family distances themselves due to destructiveness
Street family adopted
Sexual Trauma
Predatory nature of the culture of addiction can further objectify and exploit
those already sexually traumatized
Clinician must determine route of treatment - concurrently or after
stabilizing?
Sexual Identity
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Diffuse sexual orientation
Culture of addiction accept, promote, further confuse sexual orientation
Sexual shame / guilt
How are we to treat?
What does recovering person return to ‘how’
Summary: Culture of Addiction