Understanding the Relationship between Drug Use and Social Supply: Observations from Hong Kong

Abstract

Around the globe, researchers are pointing to the significance of social relations in understanding drug transactions in the youth recreational drug scene. UK scholars have observed that recreational drug users obtain their drugs free or share in the purchase with others. Many consumers are also suppliers for their peers, deriving little profit from supplying. Friends share with others based on reciprocity and trust, thereby distinguishing themselves from “real drug dealers.” Social supply enhances social interaction among peers and is embedded in a culture with distinct rules, rituals, and norms of reciprocity and trust. This paper engages with the current dialogue about the relationship between drug consumption and social supply with observations from Hong Kong. The paper looks at the shifts in the local drug market, from an open heroin market, semi open cannabis system, and closed system for methamphetamine to a highly diversified one - in drug types and a range of consumers using in a range of public and private settings. As the motivations and locales for consuming psychoactive drugs changes, so too have the ways young consumers obtain their drugs. The paper examines social supply drawing from 60 depth interviews with young adult users in Hong Kong.