När nollvisionen inte längre gäller

Sammanfattning: Abstract Author(s): Robert Hildingsson Title: When zero-vision is no longer valid. A study in Social Work on the experiences of the Substitution treatment. Supervisor: Annika Capelán Köhler Assessor: TBA The purpose of the study was to shed some light on the national drug policy of “zero-vision” – that is, the Swedish governmental no-drug policy – from the point of view of the participants of the substitution treatment. The substitution treatment implies that drugs are prescribed under controlled forms by medical staff. The aim of the study was to explore how four participants of the treatment reason about their experiences, and about how the treatment affects them in practice. The research methods used were qualitative, based on semi-structured interviews. To analyze the material I used the theoretical concepts of control, normalization and harm reduction. The results show ambiguity concerning the treatment. It is clear that all participants think that they are subsumed under too much control. At the same time, they think it is for the best. The treatment provides them with a middle way between a life with drugs and a drug free life. They all think of the treatment as a means to achieve harm reduction, step by step, rather than harsh punishment. At the same time as they feel that the treatment provides them with a sense of community, they express that they feel let down by the society. They also point to the fact that there are certain norms that rule within the treatment, for instance as to how and to whom they share the drugs used in the treatment (“leakage”). There is also a strong sense of not wanting others to live through what they have lived. There is, however, no mention of possible alternative or preventive procedures, in order to avoid drug abuse in the first place. My conclusion is that change is needed as to how politicians adapt their politics to reality. The key to this is to look at drug abuse as a serious problem, for the individual and for the community at large; to hear the voices of people with experiences of drugs, of abuse and of the substitution treatments, and above all to not ignore the problem by pretending it does not exist, or by hiding it away.