Substance Use Among Migrants: The Case of Iranians in Belgium

Based on participant observations and open interviews with 129 Iranian migrants in Belgium, this study provides information on both pre- and post-migration patterns of drug use among this population. Covering a wide range of substances—including opium, tobacco, and alcohol—consumed by Iranians from pre-Islamic times to present day, this resource illustrates how different cultures have defined drugs across the ages. Showing how the issue of drug use among migrants is more complex than once thought, this is one of the first studies to look at drug abuse among migrants from a paradigm other than a medical one.