Résumé
“Homeless populations are frequently associated with drug consumption. Drug use by homeless people is more visible leading to the assumption that homeless or street involved populations use drugs more frequently or differently than other segments of the population. In this paper, I challenge this idea and consider how homeless and street involved populations consume drugs and how they understand their drug consumption. In 15 semi-structured, open-ended interviews I explored how homeless and street involved men consume drugs and how they view their drug use. Their drug use is within the broader societal context that impacts their understandings and views of drug consumption. Using Peta Malins' definition of the "junkie", I explore the impact of this idea on how drugs are consumed by homeless and street involved populations. Drawing on the idea of subjectivities, this paper looks at how these individuals understand what it means to be a “junkie” and how they understand their own drug consumption in response. Police have an impact on the daily lives of street involved drug users. This paper explores how police interact with street involved drug users and how street involved drug users understand these interactions. Finally, I consider how the “junkie” subjectivity impacts interactions between street involved users and police.”—Page 2.