“At Least I Use Magnesium Before I Go Clubbing”: Health Perspectives,Risk Denial Techniques,Risk Balancing,and Edgework in Recreational Club Drug Use

Abstract

This article explores understandings of health and risk in relation to club drug use, through in-depth interviews with young adults (n = 35) using club drugs in Oslo, Norway. In contemporary society, negotiations around physical health are at the center of people’s perceptions of everyday life. From a sociological perspective, risk perceptions and health perspectives can be seen as affecting the use of various club drugs and the meaning given to these phenomena. The aim of this study is to explore how young adults perceive drug use and health and how they relate to health perceptions in their clubbing experiences. At the theoretical level, the article aims to develop risk denial theory as outlined by Peretti-Watel, by proposing a fourth risk denial technique in addition to scapegoating, self-confidence, and comparison between risks. This fourth technique is described as Compensating behaviors and shows how young adults’ emphasis on health both in talk and action is important for understanding their behaviors. The participants describe what they did and emphasized in their talk that this was important. Findings demonstrate how the compensating behaviors consist of both actions and talk; they talk about exercise, use of supplements, and fluid replacement; this is a risk denial technique that arguably also works as a form of harm reduction from below. The study offers insights into how and why young adults use club drugs and explores how they legitimize such use.