Prison Drug Dealing and the Ethnographic Lens

Based on fieldwork conducted in a medium‐security UK prison for men, this article highlights the strengths of ethnographic research methods for exploring prison drug dealing. Having detailed the way that the research project proceeded, it analyses prison drug dealing as an individually meaningful act that takes place within a broader context of cultural codes, social relations and institutional policies. It suggests that, to unpack these issues fully, and chart the terms of the internal economy which heroin dominates, a committed attendance in the prison establishment, and an approach that is broad and exploratory, is of great benefit.