Table 2.

Positive and negative aspects of intoxication; explanations given by the participants (N = 4).

Why do you use drugs or alcohol?	Why do you want to stop using drugs or alcohol?
I drink to reduce my anxiety and improve my social skills and concentration.	I started using drugs to find peace and reduce pain. Now I have lost both my family and my job.
Then I am able to socialise with others.	I still feel socially excluded.
I drink to get peace and forget problems and conflicts.	When I have been out on town, I have been arrested by the police.
I feel normal when I am intoxicated.	I check all the time in the mirror to find out if have been injured by my drug use.
I get free from worrying and bad thoughts. I get through the day.	I drink when I am out together with colleagues from work, but I find it difficult to control my drinking and get very drunk and have experienced events that I regret afterword.
All my problems were solved when I started with marihuana – I became myself.	I feel ill physically and it is bad for my body.
I am not able to anticipate a life without marihuana.
I get more social, think clearer, and get peace of mind.