Marginalised identities between fatalism and desperation – experiences of low-level cannabis street dealers in Frankfurt

Marginalised identities between fatalism and desperation – experiences of low-level cannabis street dealers in Frankfurt Bernd Werse Drugs and Alcohol Today, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.- This paper aims to research people who sell cannabis in public spaces known as “drug places” in Frankfurt, Germany. A particular focus is set to the relations of identity formation, relations to other dealers and law enforcement, taking into account the concept of “street capital” as social and cultural capital accumulated in the practice of drug dealing in public. Nine biographically oriented qualitative interviews were conducted directly within the respective “drug places” in the inner city and the margins of the local open drug scene with exclusively male subjects. Interviews were conducted in German, audio-recorded and transcribed. Data was analysed with structured qualitative content analysis. All respondents had some degree of migration background, ranging from German citizens up to refugees with illegal residence permit status. Social deprivation, socio-cultural conflicts with parents, combined with often early own drug use (mainly cannabis and cocaine) and stigma had contributed to a precarious existence. Experiences of criminalisation did not discourage the respondents from the continuation of their selling activity. Violence in these settings was likely but assessed in highly different ways depending on attitudes a...
Source: Drugs and Alcohol Today - Category: Addiction Authors: Source Type: research