Steroid Supply and Illicit Drug Market Overlaps | Research Presentation

Описание: This video explores polydrug supply of diverted medicines & illicit drugs among powerlifters and other steroid-using cultures, and intersections between steroid supply and illicit profit-driven enterprises in South-West England, presenting findings from my recent paper for the journal Performance Enhancement and Health, 'Polydrug Use and Drug Market Intersections Within Powerlifting Cultures in Remote South-West England' [part 2/2].
This presentation offers in-depth findings and analysis relating to how steroid and polydrug supply occurred among 'hardcore' gym cultures (powerlifters) as well as the ways in which the local IPED/steroid market intersected with broader 'drug markets' as more conventionally understood, examining the extent to which these markets overlapped or could be considered 'distinct'.
This exploration starts by examining the phenomenon of 'social supply' and 'minimally commercial' supply of IPEDs within gym cultures, before examining how the use of polydrugs such as stimulants, opioids and benzos among hardcore gym cultures intersected with these norms of culturally-embedded supply. This is followed by exploration of research participants' perceptions of local market structures, exploring the perceived difference between the 'sportsman'-based IPED market, and that involving 'drug dealers' as more conventionally understood, exploring in particular the experiences of wholesale steroid importer, brewer and supplier 'Jim', and his understanding of a nearby 'drug gang' of doormen who sold Class A drugs. Following this exploration, this presentation grounds understanding of these 'parallel' markets' intersections in a discussion of the actual risks and harms perceived to exist for buyers within this region's IPED market, noting that this is the most practical means of assessing these market intersections from a policy perspective.
This is followed by discussion of findings and their significance in the context of existing research, as well as how factors such as the location of the research likely influenced findings. This is followed by a brief discussion of policy and recommendations.

This is a presentation of findings from a research paper published by Performance Enhancement and Health, which can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.peh.2021.10...
. Copyright for the article belongs to Elsevier (this presentation was made in accordance with their standards for author reuse).

Timestamps for presentation:
0:00 - introduction & video overview
0:46 – background and context to research findings; the ‘distinct’ IPED market?
5:21 – purpose and structure of the coming work
8:20 – IPED social supply norms in hardcore gym cultures
14:03 – polydrug social supply in hardcore gym cultures
21:19 – discussion of polydrug social supply
23:30 – steroid supply by ‘commercial’ drug market actors
27:01 – powerlifters' perceptions of market difference; the two ‘parallel’ markets
30:00 – are commercial ‘drug dealers’ taking over IPED markets?
32:46 – exploring market overlap and risk in the South-West IPED market
40:29 – analysing risk; experiences of market participants
44:16 – the ‘bottom up’, open market for IPEDs
48:49 – locating risk & discussing market structures; significance of findings
51:33 – impacts on steroid brewing / manufacture?
53:18 – impacts of remote, rural location of the research on findings; rural vs urban divide?
57:37 – recommendations & policy discussion
59:14 – final thought – incidental correlation?