SUBSTANCE USE AMONG MIGRANTS. The case of Iranians in Belgium

Research on substance use among newcomers in Western countries has long been dominated by the medical paradigm. Their drug consumption has been generally conceptualised as a means of self-medicating migration-related problems. However, this qualitative study among the Iranian community in Belgium shows that migrant substance use is more complex. Changing (social) circumstances after migration create new contexts of use. Through mechanisms of social exchange, people may get acquainted with new substances, new routes of ingestion or new motives for substance use.

This book is based on participant observations and open interviews with 129 Iranian migrants in Belgium. It provides information on both pre- and postmigration patterns of use among this population, emphasising the importance of their own perspective (the insider's view). Covering a wide range of substances, focusing on opium, tobacco and alcohol, as consumed by Iranians from pre-Islamic times to present day, this book illustrates how different cultures have defined drugs across the ages.