Asian American youth, the dance scene, and club drugs

The available research data on young Asian American drug use is relatively limited compared to the availability of research on other major ethnic groups. Today more published data have highlighted the extent to which drug use is significant and rising in Asian American communities. From our ongoing research on the social context of ecstasy and other club drug use in the San Francisco Bay Area, we analyze data from a total of 56 face-to-face interviews with young Asian American club and rave attendees. We explore the development of a distinctive Asian American experience, in order to understand the attraction of club drugs and the dance scene. We examine the specific social groupings in which they operate, the types of social events they attend, and the nature of their club drug use. We highlight some of the ways in which they construct and express their identities around these social groupings, in terms of ethnic and socio-cultural distinctions as well as other cultural commodities.