Anke Stallwitz
Anke Stallwitz is Professor of Social Psychology at the Protestant University of Applied Sciences Freiburg, Department of Social Work . She has conducted numerous studies on drug scenes and drug markets in Germany, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Canada and the UK, focussing on social structures, socio-political embedding, violence (e.g. in the drug trade and against women) and peer interventions. Further focal points in research, teaching and practice are drug policy, prevention (cannabis and drugs in general), drugs and migration, participatory approaches in research, intervention, and policy as well as organised drug-related crime.
Session
Background:
Puerto Rico belongs to the Caribbean islands and holds the status of an unincorporated territory of the USA. Its geopolitical and social characteristics significantly impact the local drug situation. The island drug market plays a significant role not only for Latin but also US America. Since the mid-90s, Puerto Rico has been labelled as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
Objectives:
No empirical evidence on the drug market in Puerto Rico exists so far. This study analyses the structures and geopolitical and social particularities of the Puerto Rico drug market thereby giving a voice to both people who use and/or sell drugs and professionals in the drugs field.
Methods:
In December 2024 we conducted qualitative interviews in Puerto Rico with 20 persons actively engaged in using and/or selling illegal drugs and 11 professionals working with people who use drugs. We recruited participants through four harm reduction agencies and social networking and carried out the interviews on agency premises and in outreach settings.
Results and implications:
Due to the lack of custom controls and its geographical location, Puerto Rico constitutes an important transshipment point and commercial gateway for drugs from production countries in Latin America to mainland USA. A decisively greater number of harm reduction services with gender- and culture-specific offers are needed to counteract the widespread violence and precarious health conditions in the island drug environment.