Psychotic (e)states: where anti-social behaviour is merged with recreational drug use to signify the social problem group

The chapter critically address how recreational drug use has been incorporated into the anti-social behaviour agenda to signify drug users as a new social problem group defined as a threat to society and themselves. We show that there is an historical link to understanding an increased focus on juvenile delinquency in the Victorian period and the amplified attention on social behaviour in contemporary times. Using policy documents, criminological theory, contemporary representations, popular culture and empirical studies we seek to argue that recreational drug use by young people in poor neighbourhoods has been framed by problem drug use. We argue that the subjective aspects of anti-social behaviour have been fused with the crudely framed ‘gateway’ thesis of drug use, whereby young people’s everyday actions of ‘hanging around’ has been criminalised to an everyday suspicion of youthful activity.