Willy Pedersen

• University of Oslo

Although cocaine use is rising among youth in many countries, little is known about the social context and its influence on this new pattern of use. Drawing on a theoretical framework of class, gender, and peer‐status dynamics and extensive data from personal interviews, we investigate how cocaine use is culturally situated and socially organised i...

En lang tradisjon av forskere har belyst dealing i gatekulturer. Miljøene som har blitt belyst, har vært sosialt marginale, og selgerne har ikke hatt tilgang på noe særlig kulturell eller økonomisk kapital, som ellers er vanlige kilder til selvrespekt. Men i Oslo er både bruken av illegale rusmidler og omfanget av dealingen høyere i de velstående o...

Oslo er delt i en velstående vestlig del og en fattigere østlig del. Vi undersøker mønstre av bruk av alkohol, cannabis og kokain blant ungdommer fra 16 til 19 år (N = 10 595) i ulike deler av byen, mens vi spesielt ser på betydningen av sosioøkonomisk status (SØS). Ungdom i de vestlige bydelene hadde mye høyere andeler som har vært beruset av alko...

Oslo er delt i en velstående vestlig del og en fattigere østlig del. Vi undersøker mønstre av bruk av alkohol, cannabis og kokain blant ungdommer fra 16 til 19 år (N = 10 595) i ulike deler av byen, mens vi spesielt ser på betydningen av sosioøkonomisk status (SØS). Ungdom i de vestlige bydelene hadde mye høyere andeler som har vært beruset av alko...

Large-scale epidemiological studies have documented that many children and adolescents are exposed to different forms of victimization experiences. However, such population-based studies have rarely examined how specific types of victimization are correlated with health indicators. Thus, we investigated sexual victimization, physical victimization...

Objective: Drunkenness is common among youth and has been linked to injuries and other acute consequences as well as subsequent alcohol problems. Less is known about the long-term consequences of drunkenness regarding future education and labor market integration, and how risk changes during the developmental course. We identified trajectories of...

Objective: Research suggests an association between cannabis use and adverse labor market outcomes, but the mechanisms are unknown. We studied the nature of this association by comparing the relative roles of cannabis and tobacco use in predicting midlife outcomes. Method: We analyzed data from the Young in Norway Study, a 23-year longitudinal i...

Drug dealing is widespread in all sectors of society but is still studied predominantly in disadvantaged urban areas. We identify three main pathways to drug dealing based on qualitative interviews with middle- and upper-class individuals in Oslo, Norway. First, problems in the family and school and a lack of belonging in affluent neighbourhoods in...

Three groups of dealers Most of the dealers we met had roots in sub-Saharan Africa, but some came from the Arab world. They ranged in age from 17 to 30, with most of them in their twenties. To the casual passer-by, there was little to distinguish one cannabis dealer from another. In reality, however, the differences among them were quite striking,...

First-time selling at The River Selling cannabis is illegal, and its illegality shapes the transactions at The River. In quick succession, an offer must be made, the goods displayed and sampled, a price agreed upon, and money and commodity exchanged. Throughout this process, the participants risk being seen by the police. To survive in the longer t...

i>Street Capital is aimed at postgraduates and academics in criminology, race and ethnicity, sociology, social theory and methodology. It will also be of interest to a wider social science audience, particularly those interested in using Bourdieu as a theoretical model.

I know how the system works We met up with Johs one autumn afternoon. He was one of the dealers with a long criminal record. It was raining, and we had already been at The River for several hours. Two dealers suddenly crossed the road, obviously eyeing an opportunity to make a sale. We said “no thanks” but told them about the book we were writing....

A street drug market The River is probably the largest street cannabis market in the Nordic countries. Day and night, all through the year, a handful of young men sell cannabis – in all kinds of weather. The market shares many parallels with the 7-Eleven in the legal economy: the prices are high, the quality is low and customers therefore tend to b...

Violent drug markets We were sitting one night in a pub with John, one of the cannabis dealers. He had just completed his last trade for the day. We drank coffee, warmed ourselves and talked about how to avoid the perils of drug debt. John saw something through the window and remarked drily: John: ‘They’re gonna fight. D’you see?’ Interviewer: ‘How...

Under the bridge It was a bitterly cold winter's night. We had been walking our planned route along The River but had finished earlier than expected. Not many people were around, and we were cold, tired and looking forward to a dry room and something hot to drink. Towards the end of the round, we spotted the light of a fire under a bridge. We knew...

Theoretical framework The most important concept introduced in this book is ‘street capital’. Street capital is inspired by Pierre Bourdieu, the French sociologist. Street capital is knowledge, skills and objects that are given value in a street culture. The concept is used to capture the ‘cultural capital’ of a violent street culture. We have alre...

Drug competence Most of the young men at The River grew up in Norway and started smoking cannabis with their peers in their early teens. The initiation into cannabis use was a rite of passage; it signified the end of childhood. It was a gateway to thrills and adventures and meant a gradual incorporation into new networks. Cannabis use became a key...

The River The river Akerselva divides Oslo – the capital of Norway – into its eastern, working-class parts, and the more prosperous west. From a distance, the area seems peaceful and cultivated. There are green parks and old brick houses – some of them former factories, remnants from the early industrial period. However, the area has a long history...

Adolescents increasingly use social media platforms, and these practices open up new forms of sexual victimization, in particular image-based sexual abuse (IBSA). Few studies have examined prevalence rates and correlates of both physical sexual victimization (PSV) and these new forms of victimization in representative samples. We used data from 5,2...

International drug policy is undergoing change, and certain types of lay experts, those who have experienced problems with drug use, are getting a more important role. By drawing on 30 in-depth interviews with representatives from drug users’ organizations, bureaucrats and researchers, we explore the rise of lay experts in Norwegian drug policy. We...

We are now witnessing a radical revival in clinical research on the use of psychedelics (e.g. LSD and psilocybin), where ‘mystical’ experiences are at the centre. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 50 psychedelic drug users, we document how they draw on archetypical mystical narratives, comprising three key dimensions: (1) the transcendence of tim...

Background We study the significance of stories about bad trips among users of psychedelics. Drawing on narrative theory, we describe the characteristics of such stories and explore the work they do. Methods In-depth qualitative interviews with 50 Norwegian users of psychedelics. Results Almost all participants had frightening experiences when us...

This paper explores alcohol-related sexual storytelling. In a qualitative study of more than 100 male participants in the night-time economy in Norway, many told animated and cheerful stories laced with erotic excitement. However, a minority of men also told sex stories characterised by aggressive, belittling and degrading language. We propose that...

Fights are widespread in society, but for most people it happens once or twice and is not part of a consistent pattern or lifestyle. Using a narrative criminological framework, we study the stories of violence among people who otherwise seldom engage in violent behaviour. The young Norwegians we interviewed, emphasized that their fights emerged as...

Norway’s first clinic to treat drug abuse was established in 1961. Most patients had been initiated into drug use through the healthcare system, i.e., in an iatrogenic manner. However, we know little about the drug users from this period. Here, we present an in-depth interview with a woman born into a wealthy family in the early 1920s who developed...

Drinking stories feature widely in Western societies. Many people eagerly share their stories in the aftermath of drinking events. These stories are also common in books, movies, music and the media. Based on qualitative interviews with 104 young Norwegian heavy episodic drinkers, the article seeks to establish drinking stories as a distinct narrat...

Based on interviews with 104 young partygoers, this article examines sexual assaults that occur in the context of festive events. Focus is on how individuals describe their sexual victimization. Three experiential characteristics stand out in the victims’ accounts. First, the assaults are described as being characterized by an altered state of cons...

The use of e‐cigarettes is increasing, a practice denoted as vaping. We explore user motives, self‐identity as vapers and involvement in vaping subcultures, drawing on sociological theory of stigma, subcultures and symbolic boundaries. Based on analyses of semi‐structured interviews with 30 Norwegian vapers, we find that there is a vaping subcultur...

Background: In this study, we use assemblage theory to investigate the link between alcohol use and one-night stands. Methods: The data come from qualitative interviews conducted with 104 young participants in the night-time economy. Results: We show that: (i) alcohol-fuelled sexual explorations (e.g. erotic fantasizing, flirting and sex) are...

In this article, we examine the symbolic meaning, perceived risks and cultural framing of heroin and opiate maintenance treatment drugs among legal and illegal drug users in Norway. We use data from three groups of drug users, binge-drinkers in the night-time economy, cannabis users and heavy-end illegal drug users. We interviewed 207 drug users of...

Research on partying and nightlife often emphasizes commercial control while overlooking participants' creativity and agency. Due to their age, appearance and transgressive partying, participants in the Norwegian high school graduation celebration have limited access to bars and pubs in the ordinary night-time economy. To create alternative party s...

Introduction and aims: In 'binge drinking' cultures, there is a strong association between alcohol consumption and violence. At the same time, several studies suggest that this link is cultural and contextual. We explore the role of alcohol in incidents of violence in nightlife settings. Design and methods: We used qualitative interviews with 10...

While the Nordic countries represent a zone of penal moderation, drug offences remain subject to harsh punishment. Based on 60 interviews with incarcerated drug dealers, we present four trajectories and turning points to the higher tiers of the illegal drug economy. The first trajectory is characterized by criminal entrepreneurship, but three other...

In a qualitative study, we investigated the medical motives of 100 Norwegian cannabis users, none of whom had legal access to medical cannabis. Cannabis was used therapeutically for conditions such as multiple sclerosis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and rheumatism, as well as for quality of life conditions such as quality of sleep, rela...

This chapter demonstrates the fruitfulness of a theoretical framework when studying, for example, practical rationality, the social and historical process of embodied dispositions, and the complex relationship between socioeconomic constraints and human agency. It notes that ‘street capital’, inspired by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, cons...

This chapter presents the life stories of three drug dealers – Daniel, Usman, and Hassan – who represent three different groups of dealers. It notes that the concept of ‘street capital’ helps one to understand these marginalised men's different trajectories to street drug dealing. The chapter also presents Mette, the only female dealer interviewed....

This chapter shows how the young men at The River set themselves up within an economy that, for all intents and purposes, runs alongside the normal white economy. It explains that the young men at The River learned how the black, illegal economy operates, and developed skills and abilities needed to survive in a marginal, despised, and denigrated c...

This chapter concludes that, in a Nordic context, with a high density of welfare-state institutions and private welfare organisations out in the streets, presenting oneself as a victim is also an important part of what is conceptualised as street capital. It also observes that the Nordic context demonstrates that, to understand street culture, more...

This chapter identifies how experiences at school, in the job market, with racism, and as refugees are important to understanding why the young men ended up dealing drugs at The River. In addition, it shows how many of them developed strong subcultural identities over time. The chapter notes that as ‘foreigners’, the young men capitalised on a kind...

This chapter observes that it is hard to find a direct link between so-called ‘traditional honour cultures’ and violence. It notes that the development of criminal and deviant subcultures is often associated with new immigrant groups; at other times, with established minority ethnic groups, such as Anderson's (1999) African Americans, Vigil's (2002...

This chapter discusses the different kinds of drugs and their effects on the users. It notes that most of the young men at The River grew up in Norway and started smoking cannabis with their peers in their early teens. The chapter further notes that the initiation into cannabis use was a rite of passage; it signified the end of childhood. It observ...

This chapter observes that The River dealers used the oppression discourse mostly in dealing with the welfare system. It is a discourse that privileges structural problems, such as difficulties getting a job, an education, and finding accommodation. The chapter notes that marginalisation and discrimination are typically highlighted. It explains tha...

This book introduces the worlds of young black men dealing cannabis at a drug scene called The River in Oslo, Norway. The lives of these men are structured by a huge and complex cannabis economy and they are involved in fights, robberies, and substance abuse. They lack jobs and education, and many of them do not have family or close friends, yet th...

To investigate associations between cannabis use and subsequent receipt of social welfare assistance. The Young in Norway Longitudinal Study. A population-based Norwegian sample (n = 2606) was followed-up from adolescence to late 20s. Self-report data were merged with data from national registers. Data were extracted on the use of alcohol, tobacco...

Research on teenage pregnancy and abortion has primarily focused on socio-economic disadvantage. However, a few studies suggest that risk of unwanted pregnancy is related to conduct disorder symptoms. We examined the relationship between level of conduct disorder symptoms at age 15 and subsequent pregnancy, child-birth and abortion. A population-ba...

A previous Norwegian study showed that underaged smokers usually buy cigarettes for themselves. The Norwegian Medical Association has recently suggested that the minimum legal age for purchase of tobacco should be raised from 18 to 20 years. This study presents new data on underaged who buy cigarettes and snus for themselves; i.e. number of buyers...

Physicians prescribe benzodiazepines more often to patients with high alcohol consumption than to others. Little is known about benzodiazepine prescription rates to people who use illicit substances. In this cross-sectional study we examined the association between use of cannabis and prescription of benzodiazepines in young adults. Data were analy...

Er det blitt «normalt» å røyke hasj? Hva er forholdet mellom en idealistisk cannabiskultur og en kynisk og profittorientert cannabisøkonomi? Hva innebærer de nye trendene knyttet til hjemmedyrking og medisinsk bruk av cannabis? Hvordan bør en fornuftig politikk utformes? Cannabiskultur gir et fascinerende innblikk i hasjrøykernes hverdag i Norge. V...

i>Street Capital is aimed at postgraduates and academics in criminology, race and ethnicity, sociology, social theory and methodology. It will also be of interest to a wider social science audience, particularly those interested in using Bourdieu as a theoretical model.

To examine the association between cannabis use during adolescence and young adulthood, and subsequent criminal charges. Data were obtained from the Young in Norway Longitudinal Study. A population-based sample (n = 1353) was followed from 13 to 27 years of age. Data were gathered on cannabis use, alcohol consumption and alcohol problems, and use o...

The prevalence of smoking is decreasing. At the same time, studies suggest that the relative proportion of nicotine dependent smokers is increasing. This may leave us with a smaller, but more problematic group of smokers. Few studies have investigated nicotine dependence in Norway. Data were collected in the Young in Norway Longitudinal Study, wher...

To investigate prospectively the associations between daily smoking and nicotine dependence and anxiety, depression and suicide attempts. Data were from the Young in Norway Longitudinal Study. A population-based sample (n = 1501) was followed for 13 years from ages 13-27 years. Data were gathered on smoking patterns and nicotine dependence; and dep...

Even occasional use of cannabis may increase the risk of serious mental disease (e.g. schizophrenia). Little has been known about the use of cannabis in Norway; especially among adults. A representative sample of young men and women were followed up from they were in their teens in 1992 until they were young adults in 2005. During this 13-year peri...

Induced abortion is an experience shared by a large number of women in Norway, but we know little about the likely social or mental health-related implications of undergoing induced abortion. International studies suggest an increased risk of adverse outcomes such as depression, but many studies are weakened by poor design. One particular problem i...

During the summer of 2004 the police closed Plata, an open drug scene in the midst of Oslo. The most important argument for the closure was that the drug scene made it easier for curious, city-dwelling adolescents to start using drugs. This research sought to assess this assumption. Ethnographic research methods including twenty 2-hr field observat...

Is young people's sexuality becoming more fluid and less tied to steady, stable identity patterns? Are we developing into a society where sexual relationships between individuals of the same sex are no longer reserved for the small minority of gay men and lesbian women? Adherents of so-called queer theory have promulgated such views. Using a popula...

Is young people's sexuality becoming more fluid and less tied to steady, stable identity patterns? Are we developing into a society where sexual relationships between individuals of the same sex are no longer reserved for the small minority of gay men and lesbian women? Adherents of so-called queer theory have promulgated such views. Using a popula...

In 1995 the first emergency contraception pill was approved in Norway for prescription use only. In October 2000 levonorgestrel was released for over-the-counter sale in pharmacies. Subsequently there has been a large increase in sales. Statistics from 1997 show that less than 5000 doses of emergency contraception were sold. As a response to increa...

The use of postcoital contraception or emergency contraception has increased in many countries. This has been linked to an expected reduction in the abortion rates, but so far there is no evidence of such an association. A possible explanation could be that women who are in the risk zone for abortion typically do not use emergency contraception. Th...

To investigate the possible linkages between deliveries, abortions and subsequent nicotine dependence, alcohol problems and use of cannabis and other illegal drugs from the ages of 15-27 years. Data were gathered as part of the Young in Norway Longitudinal Study, an 11-year follow-up of a representative sample of Norwegian adolescents and young adu...

The aim of the study was to investigate possible associations between social background, other aspects of childhood environment and induced abortion among young women. Norwegian girls (N = 2,198), comprising a representative sample, were followed up through three data collections from they were in their teens in 1992 till they were young adult wome...

We investigated the associations between new interactive technology for communication, such as web chat or mobile phones, and sexual behaviour among Norwegian adolescents. A representative sample of adolescents (age 13-18, N = 10,926) filled in a questionnaire during school hours; the response rate was 92%. Most adolescents have access to communica...

The most important predictors of early intercourse debut are reported to be poor social resources and early developing problem behaviors. In this study we have a new, additional emphasis on variables related to self-concept and social acceptance. In a population-based longitudinal study, 1399 Norwegians were followed over a 7-year span. We analyzed...

We wanted to investigate erotic and sexual behaviour in adolescents, with emphasis on the trend over the last decade. Two large, survey-based representative studies of Norwegian adolescents (each with approx. 11 000 respondents) from 1992 and 2002 (response rates 97% and 92%). Median age at first intercourse has decreased by 12 months in females ov...

It has been suggested in several studies that marriage provides the best framework for a sexual relationship. During the past few decades, however, the majority of young singles have maintained a partnered sex life, and marriage has given way to cohabitation as the typical way for heterosexual couples to live together in young adulthood. Taking a l...

Adolescents who reported to have given sexual favors for payment were investigated. The sample consisted of all adolescents in the public and private school systems in Oslo, the capital in Norway (age group 14-17, response rate 94.3%, N=10,828). Adolescents who had sold sex form 1.4%, three times as many boys as girls. Half the group had done it mo...

The authors investigated the association between doping agents (mostly anabolic-androgenic steroids) and involvement in violence and experience of violent victimization in Oslo, Norway. The sample consisted of 10,828 adolescents aged 14 to 17 years. Of the adolescents, 11.5% had been offered doping agents and 1.8% had used doping agents. When confo...

Use of doping agents among Norwegian adolescents was investigated, with special emphasis on the association between doping agent use and use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs. The sample consisted of all 14 to 17 year olds in the public and private school systems in Oslo. The response rate was 94.3 % (n = 10,828). Two and three-tenths percent of the bo...

(i) To describe illegal drug use patterns in an adolescent normal population sample with special emphasis on MDMA, ecstasy; (ii) to investigate where ecstasy is introduced in a hypothesized drug use sequence, and (iii) to contrast the predictors of ecstasy use with those of other illegal substances. Special attention was given to the relationship t...

In a study of sexual victimization and alcohol consumption, a population sample of Norwegian adolescents from the Oslo area was followed-up through five data collections over a 6-year time span. By means of generalized structural equation modelling, alcohol-related predictors and consequences of sexual assaults were investigated; 17% of the girls r...