Presented by Roberto Abadie, assistant professor of anthropology, School of Global Integrative Studies. An ethnography of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Puerto Rico, the talk will examine the socio-cultural environment that promotes and sustain addiction while illustrating the effects of continuous drug use on the lives of those afflicted. As drug users develop drug dependence, most of their efforts are oriented not towards seeking pleasure but preventing painful withdrawal symptoms or sickness.

Despite been rooted in Puerto Rico’s history of colonialism and imperial domination, neoliberal policies, and recurrent economic crisis that severely impacted the services PWID depend upon, Abadie’s talk aims to present a more comprehensive view of what it means to live with a drug addiction.

To attend virtually, register at: https://go.unl.edu/casinqJAN