ABSTRACT
This fi nal chapter will assess the prospects for the future of ‘normal’, hidden illegal drug use among older adults. It will begin by looking at the future intentions of the participants in this research study with regard to their illegal drug use. Then it will consider the issue of illegality, exploring the participants’ views on the fact that their drug use is a proscribed activity and refl ecting upon the implications of such ‘normal’ drug use for the legalisation debate. Next, we tentatively move beyond the confi nes of our own data and refl ect upon the question of normalisation. We will speculate that there is considerable potential for illegal drug use among older adults to become progressively normalised as younger, more drug-involved cohorts grow older, but also as the disruptive forces of late modernity render the idea of a ‘mainstream’, non-deviant culture increasingly problematic. Following this, we consider the limits of this rather modest study and the potential way forward for research with a similar focus. Finally, we will end the book with a summary of the main arguments that we have put forward and offer some brief concluding thoughts.
