ABSTRACT
In an episode of the television drama Shameless, broadcast on Channel Four in February 2006, Lip, one of the main young characters seeks relief from his relationship troubles in the familiar pub of the series. Leaning wearily across the bar he orders a pint of lager, a whisky chaser and an ‘E’ from the barman who supplements his pub wages with a little local drug dealing. This is interesting for two reasons: firstly, because it portrays a picture of routine, normalised but illegal, recreational drug use which is not so very far removed from the everyday lived realities of many ‘ordinary’ young people in the UK today. Customers may not be able to order recreational drugs from the counter in pubs yet, but they are quite likely to be on sale somewhere near the bar. And secondly, it is interesting for the point that within the show this scene is presented as a fleeting, mundane moment of little consequence. Other, much more exciting things happen to Lip in this episode and his consumption of lager, whisky and ecstasy is represented as little more significant than what he had for lunch.
