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Most drug-use studies occur in urban areas with samples from treatment or prison populations. This text analyzes heroin users and the drug subculture on the Shetland Islands, which are remote, rural and wealthy. It examines the users and their communities.

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This book analyzes heroin users and the drug subculture on the Shetland Islands, an area known for its geographical remoteness, rural character and relative wealth. It fills the scientific gap created by the conventional research in heroin research, which is usually conducted in urban areas and relies on treatment and prison populations. Based on qualitative, in-depth interviews with twenty-four heroin users, this book depicts and analyzes the nature and historical development of the local heroin scene. It illustrates the features and internal structures of the subculture, and it examines the manner in which both are influenced by the location-specific geographical, cultural and socio-economic conditions. It thus reveals complex causal associations that are hard to recognize in urban environments. Complete with a list of references used and recommendations for future research, this book is a vital tool for progressive and pragmatic approaches to policy, intervention and research in the field of illicit drug use.

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PART I: THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE STUDY.- Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2. Theoretical Background and Literature Review.- Chapter 3. Methodology.- PART II: THE SHETLAND HEROIN SCENE - LOCATION-SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS AND HISTORICAL EVOLUTION.- Chapter 4. Shetland and Substance Use.- Chapter 5. The Features and Descriptive Characteristics of Heroin Scene in Shetland.- Chapter 6. The Internal Structure of the Heroin Scene in Shetland.- Chapter 7. The Shetland Heroin Scene from a Historical Perspective: Five Distinct Eras.- Chapter 8. The Current Heroin Using Trend in Shetland.- Chapter 9. The Community-Minded Spirit of the Shetland Heroin Scene.- Chapter 10. Summary of Part II.- PART III: COMMUNITY-MINDEDNESS AND SELF-REGULATION IN DRUG CULTURES.- Chapter 11: Community-Mindedness and Self-Regulation in Heroin Scenes in the Scientific Literature.- Chapter 12: Explaining Drug Markets and Distributions Systems.- Chapter 13. Historical Transitions of Urban Drug Markets and Scenes.- Chapter 14. The British, Scottish and Shetland Heroin Trends in Numbers.- Chapter 15. Media Reports on Heroin in Shetland.- Chapter 16. Heroin Use in Relation to the Location-Specific Particularities of the Shetland Islands.- Chapter 17. Explaining the Evolution of Drug Eras.- Chapter 18. Future Prognosis of the Shetland Heroin Scene.- PART IV: PROMOTING SELF-REGULATION AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION OF DRUG CULTURES.- Chapter 19. A Model of Self-Regulation and Social Integration of Drug Subcultures.- References.-

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