Ethnography and Illicit Drug Use: Dispatches from an Anthropologist in the “Field”

Abstract

This article reports on continuing ethnographic research with a social network of young, “recreational”, illicit rug users in the inner-city areas of Perth, Western Australia. It describes who they are, how their daily lives are recorded by the researcher (principally through participant observation), and how they react to the research. The means used to establish initial contact with the network and to maintain close social interaction with them for over twelve months are also outlined. The article then discusses some of the issues which this particular ethnographic enterprise raises, seeking to ground the discussion firmly in the reported work while also making some more general observations. The areas covered include the philosophy underpinning ethnography, the related questions of personal morals and ethics, the potential intrusion of personal values into qualitative research findings and some practical comments on ethnographic conduct.

Key Words:

• Illicit drug use
• Australia
• ethnography
• methodology
• psychostimulants