Conventional Lives,Divergent Views: Differentiated Attitudes Toward Illicit Drug Use Among Young Adults

Abstract

The normalization thesis has significantly shaped sociological understandings of youth drug use by framing it as increasingly integrated into conventional lifestyles. However, critics argue that such accounts often obscure the complexity and variability in how illicit drug use is socially accommodated. This article contributes to the framework of differentiated normalization by mapping the attitudinal positions young adults adopt toward drug use. Drawing on 40 semi-structured interviews with Belgian youth aged 18–25, the study identifies three attitudinal positions: (1) an open stance, in which drug use is accepted so long as it aligns with personal definitions of responsibility and a conventional lifestyle; (2) a tolerant stance, marked by ambivalence and conditional tolerance, often bounded by situational control and self-regulation; and (3) a closed stance, characterized by categorical rejection and a belief in the incompatibility of drug use with responsible living. Across these positions, informal control mechanisms—such as timing, context, and substance-specific boundaries—played a crucial role in shaping definitions of “sensible use.” These findings demonstrate that attitudes toward drug use are not simply normalized, neutralized, or stigmatized, but are instead differentiated—structured around varying interpretations of what it means to maintain a conventional way of life. This highlights the need for drug policies, harm reduction, and prevention efforts that engage with young people's own moral understandings of responsibility and “sensible use,” rather than relying on uniform assumptions of normalization or abstinence-based messaging.