“…Crack availability and crack use increase starting in 2011, in part because it is less costly than powder cocaine, which at that time was also of substandard quality (Janssen et al, 2020). In 2016, according to mobile social intervention units, there were between 50 and 80 permanent dwellers at La Colline, not including daily visits of other PWUD.…”
Section: Space Organized By Pwudmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Ever since it appeared on the Parisian drug scene at the end of the 1980s, crack use has progressively increased in the Ile de France region with a recent estimate of 13,000 current users (Janssen et al, 2020). According to various quantitative surveys conducted among PWUD attending harm reduction services and treatment centers, crack was consumed by 33% of PWUD in the last month, making it the second most popular illicit substance after cannabis (Weill-Barillet et al, 2016).…”
Purpose
In November 2019, an open drug scene, commonly called “Colline du crack” and located in Paris was forcibly closed after 10 years of existence. This paper aims to understand how that space has evolved over the years to become a major hub for drug use.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a qualitative approach that included interviews with 52 people who use drugs (PWUD) and 54 field professionals and ethnographic observations. The authors asked questions about the evolution of the major sites of crack visibility in Paris and about social representations related to these spaces. They compared their datas with datas drawn from gray literature.
Findings
La Colline emerged on an isolated slope, away from police repression and local anti-crack organizations. In the beginning, it was a discrete, communal space regulated by PWUD. Starting in 2015, social transformations in the neighborhood turned la Colline into a central hub for dealing and using crack. La Colline became an open scene which led to its evacuation in 2019.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to literature on community building of drug consumers. The authors are also using a wide variety of methodological tools.
“…Crack availability and crack use increase starting in 2011, in part because it is less costly than powder cocaine, which at that time was also of substandard quality (Janssen et al, 2020). In 2016, according to mobile social intervention units, there were between 50 and 80 permanent dwellers at La Colline, not including daily visits of other PWUD.…”
Section: Space Organized By Pwudmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Ever since it appeared on the Parisian drug scene at the end of the 1980s, crack use has progressively increased in the Ile de France region with a recent estimate of 13,000 current users (Janssen et al, 2020). According to various quantitative surveys conducted among PWUD attending harm reduction services and treatment centers, crack was consumed by 33% of PWUD in the last month, making it the second most popular illicit substance after cannabis (Weill-Barillet et al, 2016).…”
Purpose
In November 2019, an open drug scene, commonly called “Colline du crack” and located in Paris was forcibly closed after 10 years of existence. This paper aims to understand how that space has evolved over the years to become a major hub for drug use.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a qualitative approach that included interviews with 52 people who use drugs (PWUD) and 54 field professionals and ethnographic observations. The authors asked questions about the evolution of the major sites of crack visibility in Paris and about social representations related to these spaces. They compared their datas with datas drawn from gray literature.
Findings
La Colline emerged on an isolated slope, away from police repression and local anti-crack organizations. In the beginning, it was a discrete, communal space regulated by PWUD. Starting in 2015, social transformations in the neighborhood turned la Colline into a central hub for dealing and using crack. La Colline became an open scene which led to its evacuation in 2019.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to literature on community building of drug consumers. The authors are also using a wide variety of methodological tools.
“…The French approach to crack cocaine shares commonalities and differences with the U.S. In France, crack cocaine is mostly smoked but more recently is also being injected intravenously and the spike of increased crack cocaine use in France did not occur until the 2000s [ 5 , 6 ]. French political and media attention towards crack cocaine has also recently increased due to the presence of visible, open drug use in Paris framing the topic as a public order, health, and social problem.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…French political and media attention towards crack cocaine has also recently increased due to the presence of visible, open drug use in Paris framing the topic as a public order, health, and social problem. This attention stems from crack cocaine in France having increasing associations with socially and economically vulnerable populations when compared to powder cocaine use patterns [ 6 ]. Unlike the U.S., the aggregation of racial data is prohibited in France.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Since the late 1970s, in addition to a repressive drug policy approach, France has implemented a strong, publicly funded drug treatment system with harm reduction services to better address the health needs of people who use drugs [ 7 ]. Accordingly, France is systematically more equipped to serve the healthcare needs of people who problematically use crack cocaine compared to the U.S. [ 5 , 6 ].…”
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