Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31299/hrri.62.1.5
When drugs have a purpose: understanding stimulant use from the users’ perspective
Dijana Jerković
orcid.org/0000-0001-6163-614X
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Criminology, Borongajska cesta 83 f, Zagreb, Croatia
*
Tihana Novak
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Criminology, Borongajska cesta 83 f, Zagreb, Croatia
Anita Jandrić Nišević
orcid.org/0000-0002-9076-0403
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Criminology, Borongajska cesta 83 f, Zagreb, Croatia
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
Qualitative research incorporating the perspectives of people who use drugs in the Republic of Croatia remains scarce. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of its kind conducted among stimulant users in the country. The study explores the motives and contexts related to stimulant use from the perspective of drug users. The study involved 24 adult participants (13 men and 11 women), with a mean age of 39.6 years (range: 21-55 years), who had used at least one of the following stimulant drugs in the past 12 months: MDMA/ecstasy, amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, or synthetic cathinones. Participants were recruited through harm reduction organisations, researcher acquaintances, and snowball sampling methods. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and a focus group, and analysed using thematic analysis. Participants reported initiating stimulant use for reasons such as curiosity, pleasure, peer influence, and upbringing-related circumstances. In contrast, stimulant use within the past 12 months reflected a more complex and layered motivational structure, including hedonic-social motives, emotional regulation, functional motives related to work endurance and productivity, and motives linked to identity and social positioning. Several typical trajectories of use were identified, including shifts from recreational to functional or introspective use and the development of frequent use under demanding working conditions. The context of drug use emerged as central in shaping subjective experiences and the perceived effects of stimulants. Participants reported using stimulants across diverse settings, including nightlife and festival scenes, chemsex environments, private environments, and professional situations, where the same substance assumed different functions depending on the context. These findings osjećahighlight stimulant use as a dynamic, context-dependent practice and underscore the importance of incorporating user perspectives into the development of differentiated, context-sensitive prevention, harm reduction, and policy responses.
Keywords
stimulants; motives; contexts of use
Hrčak ID:
348362
URI
Publication date:
29.6.2026.
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