Methamphetamine Users’ Perceptions of Exchanging Drugs for Money

Abstract

Trust, between regular buyers and sellers, is thought to underpin retail-level illicit drug markets, discouraging sellers from taking advantage of buyers. Although dealers report rewarding regular, trusted customers with assured purity, less is known about their customers’ experience of trust. Interviews with 101 methamphetamine users in New South Wales, Australia, confirm that users establish ongoing relationships with dealers. Irrespective of their level of methamphetamine use, some users trust their main dealer to supply a fair deal, whereas others expect to be taken advantage of. The study identified factors other than trust that might regulate dealer behavior. Methamphetamine use ebbs and flows. Users source drugs from multiple dealers, substitute other drugs for methamphetamine, and some buy a range of drugs from the one dealer. Our findings emphasize the complexity of factors that influence decisions about purchasing illicit drugs and point to a more holistic view of what regulates dealer behavior.