Drug Users: A Case Study

The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate how ethnographic research can generate unique insights into the situated meaning of illicit drug use within bounded play spaces of pleasure and excess. The case study draws on three summers of participant observation with British tourists on the Balearic island of Ibiza, a holiday resort culturally defined by narratives of hedonism, drugs and dance music. The chapter discusses three principal aspects of the ethnographic research. First, a step-by-step outline of the methodological framework is provided. Second, key findings on the pleasures of drug use are discussed, demonstrating how ethnography can generate unique insights into this area of study. Third, future directions for ethnographic research in relation to drug users are proposed.