Abstract:
This paper describes and analyses the development of psychotropic actors and territories from the early 90's until today, based on two ethnographies carried out in the city of Porto (Portugal). The second ethnography, currently ongoing, is a revisitation of the first one, which was undertaken by one of the authors in the 90's. In both ethnographies, the research units are territories located in housing estates – or their surroundings – in which there is a concentration of individuals with commercial or consumptive interests in drugs. Both studies portray the territorial dynamics of the drugs phenomenon, as well as its main protagonists in psychotropic territories that the media describe as “drug neighborhoods”. We explore the phenomenology of the “junkie”, describing his/her practices and ways of living, the functions he/she may perform in the operation of the psychotropic territory, and the strategies he/she develops to finance his/her drug use. The current actors' sociographic profile is similar to the one described in the first study, the difference being that in the past there were many younger individuals. Regarding the psychotropic territories, this revisitation authorizes stating the stability of their characteristics and operation; their longevity in terms of location, dynamics and functions; their great resistance to police charges.
Keywords:
Ethnographic revisits; Peripheries; Territory; Drugs