Citizens and Outlaws: The Private Lives and Public Lifestyles of Women in the Illicit Drug Economy

Abstract

This paper utilizes findings from a qualitative study of methamphetamine among users in three U.S. communities: San Francisco, San Diego, and Honolulu. In-depth interviews were combined with survey questionnaires to explore the patterns, contexts, and consequences among an ethnically and culturally diverse sample of 150 moderate to heavy users in each site. A grounded theory method was used to identify and examine patterns of experiences, beliefs, and environments. One of the most important findings emerging from this study concerns the unexpectedly high proportion of women with substantial experience as methamphetamine dealers and/or distributors. More than two-thirds of the 141 female respondent users were involved in diverse lifestyles and participated in the illicit methamphetamine market on a wide variety of levels. However, the majority considered this activity as a positive experience which provided them with economic independence, self-esteem, increased ability to function, professional pride, and ethics. Dealing was seen as supportive in their important need to maintain control: with social and intimate relationships, with daily living responsibilities, and with their drug use. The major problems reported by women dealers across all sites included: arrests and incarceration; violence; lack of trust in, and betrayal by, customers; and social and emotional dependency on the drug to feel normal and function without fear on a social level.

The Process of Paradoxical Autonomy and Survival in the Heroin Careers of Mexican American Women

“…These studies reveal that female drug users encompass a wide range of social classes, lifestyles, social contexts, and careers in illicit drug economies (Fagan, 1994;Bourgois and Dunlap, 1993;Bourgois, 1995;Sterk-Elifson, 1996;Morgan and Joe, 1996;Waldorf and Murphy, 1995). This research line indicates that contemporary female drug users exhibit a wide variety of control over their drug habits and have access to social and drug resources.…”

Gender Differences in Drug Market Activities: A Comparative Assessment of Men and Women's Participation in the Drug Market

“…Some scholars have argued that the 'war on drugs' has become a war on women, contributing significantly to the escalating population of women in prison (Chesney-Lind, 1997;Wilson, 1993). In an effort to understand the complex relationship between illicit drug use, crime, and gender, studies have examined women's involvement with drugs, focusing both on women's use of drugs, and their role in drug distribution networks (Denton & O'Malley, 1999;Fagan, 1994;Maxwell & Maxwell, 2000;Morgan & Joe, 1996;Sommers & Baskin, 1996). Such research has provided insight, at times conflicting, into the changing nature of illicit drug markets and women's roles within this illegitimate economy.…”

Keeping out of trouble: Female crack cocaine dealers in England

“…They preferred to buy upfront in limited quantities, timed to coincide with peak sales times (see also Jacobs, 1999: 45) to limit use and potential problems. Female dealers interviewed by Morgan and Joe (1996) also emphasized the importance of keeping habits under control. Paying upfront was a way to maintain control over their own dealing, rather than being hassled by suppliers about how or when to sell.…”