The 2019 Congress of the Austrian Society of Sociology took place in Salzburg, Austria on 26-28 September 2019. The conference theme was “dynamics and continuities of modern societies” raising the issue of how societal and political changes occur within persevering structures and patterns. Our colleagues Günter Stummvoll, Rahel Kahlert, and Cees Goos presented findings from the project Exchanging Prevention Practices on polydrug use among youth in Criminal justice systems (EPPIC).
The presentation was part of the thematic section of addiction and drug research, focusing on drug use and addiction under modern conditions. The presentation covered the tension between criminality and illness — young drug offenders at the intersection of criminal justice and health systems. The perspectives of young drug users showed how they saw their criminality triggered by economic pressures and deprivation. They often saw their milieu (aka subculture) as conducive for both their drug use and criminality. The concept of diversion (reformed in Austria in 2016) shifted to considering the young person as ill rather than criminal.
