gupea_2077_34998_1

dicts have been active elements in the social circles during and after the conversion
periods.
Many interviewees have, despite chaotic adolescent revolts, been offered attractive
education opportunities. The Labour Market Board has been successful with
placing youths who in other contexts have been viewed as hopeless in certain boarding
colleges. In addition, it used to be relatively easy to get a job in Sweden. Several
veterans started to work immediately after coming clean, and others simply got
themselves a job while still using injectable drugs. Such strategies could also supply
new approaches and social networks. While in school, several interviewees had access
to attractive housing in central Gothenburg, and these flats could in turn be
handed over to other disadvantaged youths. Pioneers and veterans have also been
able to, in emergency situations, tip each other off about reliable enthusiasts and
lawyers who can help solve problems. In this way, contacts with deviant circles could
also be of practical benefit.
Even if newly established relationships were significant during periods of recovery,
feelings of poverty, agony and horror appear to have been – initially – the most
motivating driving force behind the willingness to change. To the extent that horror
instead of saturation has driven a drug user into exile, the temptation to return to the
arenas of deviance can of course intensify if the situation appears to have changed
for the better. However, several interviewees give testimony to dreary comeback attempts.
In this way, returns to a destructive lifestyle have served to reinforce a growing
identity as ordinary instead of demolishing achievements of decency. Several
interviewees have, after their recovery, changed their attitude to alcohol and illegal
drugs in a way that has enabled them to have a drink or take a hit without relapsing.
Over the years, a number of voluntary associations like RFHL and KRIS but
also several Christian support initiatives have acquired a base among ex-deviants.
Several prominent members of Gothenburg’s first generation of young drug addicts
became engaged for a while in this activity field, despite the fact that their own recovery
was mainly selfinitiated. Although most of the interviewees displayed other
interests before becoming involved in the deviant communities, this kind of commission
has had a disproportional place in their life after their exit from the previous
lifestyle. But even if such an involvement can be considered to be voluntary,
the expectation to help others might imply heading for a dead end since it tends to
imply that the stigma continues into the new role. Hence, some have objected and
turned their back to it. There are also many indications that the role as a drug addict,
regardless of whether it left other traces, does not have to linger as a life-long
identification. Consequently, the interviewees’ professional and other activities have
gradually become more differentiated.
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