Illness or Deviance?: Drug Courts, Drug Treatment, and the Ambiguity of Addiction

the Westview Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment fac ility. They sit in a circle in a large room along with the therapist who moderates the group, a white woman in her early twenties. All of the group members are black, ranging in age from about twenty to fifty, with the exception of one white male who looks like he is about twenty years old. The group members take turns “checking in” to the group therapy session, reporting their first name, the drug(s) for which they are in treatment, and the number of “clean days” they have. About fifteen minutes into the group meeting, the door opens and another therapist escorts an additional group member into the room, a black man who appears to be in his early thirties. The therapist hands the group therapist a small piece of paper and leaves the room. After reading what is written on the paper, the group therapist looks at the late group member with exaggerated shock and disappointment. He sits down in one of the open seats, laughing ner vously and pulling his knit hat over his face. The other group members start muttering to each other and several say, “Oh, Steve!”