Abstract
This chapter is the first chapter in Part II of the book. This chapter uses current theory about the normalization of drug use to explore the way young participants use painkillers to manage the balance between pain and pleasure. The chapter addresses the role that ‘chilling out’ with painkillers plays in participant experiences of recreational and polydrug use. It addresses the different ways in which young participants spoke about the use of painkillers to ‘get off your face’ and to ‘feel numb’ as a form of ‘escape’, and discusses the use of painkillers to manage other forms of illicit intoxication in order to ‘stay safe’ and manage ‘the comedown’.
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Dertadian, G.C. (2019). Chilling Out: Recreational and Painkiller Use Among Young People. In: A Fine Line. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1975-4_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1975-4_5
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