‘As long as you have the guts’: The discourse of drug offending

Abstract

Despite the harsh punishment and measures taken to crack down on drug-related crimes in China, drug offending presents a growing threat. This paper, based on in-depth interviews with 24 drug offenders who are now under incarceration, explores how drug offending is described and presented. The results reveal that drug offending is not merely simplified as good or evil, but constructed as individuals’ only, attractive, or non-existent option. The implications of the results are briefly discussed in regard to the reduction in drug crimes and policy improvement.