A most interesting theme which emerged in participant interviews was that of 'Mistrust '. Particularly participants in all groups indicated through their speech that they mistrust (to varying degrees) large pharmaceutical companies and indeed governmental laws which surround substances. Participants seemed focused somewhat on the prescription of opiates, equating substances such as heroin, a substance which most participants categorised as perhaps one of the most harmful and addictive substances, to medically prescribed substances.
[Participant Group 1]
INT: Would you equate medically prescribed stuff to things like heroin?
D: I feel like I would. It 's just the way you like get medically prescribed …show more content…
This, it 's very political and I don 't think it 's like medicinal they are not...I don 't feel like the motivation behind the laws around drugs is like as much to do with like actually worrying about the people, like they make it seem. If that makes sense.
4.1.9. Treatment:
The theme of 'Treatment ', in regards to substance abuse and dependency, was found to be of great concern for participants. Participants stressed that intervention in an individual 's substance usage, in the form of seeking treatment, is only truly warranted when substance usage threatened the individuals health.
[Participant Group …show more content…
Specifically also because, um, the harm it does to your body, because like your muscles literally go into spasm and you like literally can 't move, because like... I don 't know it stops the secretion of something, a kind of hormone or whatever. So you know like, what can replace that, without you having to go into withdrawal? You know I think that 's how a lot of people think so you know, if I stop this what 's going replace it... there 's going to be a hole in my life, or you know that 's how they try and fill the current hole life and that 's how they feel. it is actually filled but other people don 't see it that way you don 't see how it harms you because like, you 're looking like this and they are oblivious... so