Publicly visible drug use behavior has become common in many of Miami's public settings. Two well-known examples of these settings, at a public beach (pseudonym Portage Beach) and at a shopping center (pseudonym Cuban-town) respectively demonstrate intercultural variation between Anglo and Cuban drug using patterns. Descriptions of typical day's activities in each environment illustrate qualities of publicness which justify the comparison between these two scenes. Social institutions and values affect drug use behavior differently in the context of each group, and this leads to contrasts between Cuban and Anglo drug users in choices of psychotropic drugs and in expectations of drug effects. -Authors
