This article describes a clinical experience in a psychiatric inpatient unit for men diagnosed with drug addiction, which was analyzed based on the analyst’s discourse (Lacan 1969-70/1992Lacan, J. (1992). O seminário. Livro 17. O avesso da psicanálise. Rio de Janeiro, RJ: Jorge Zahar. (Trabalho original publicado em 1969-70).). The arrangement of the objet petit a reveals that the relationship with drugs is not always the cause of psychic suffering. One of the aspects of this clinic, in which neurotic subjects predominate, includes the drive to repeat failure, resulting in the meaningless. This is not related to drugs, but rather to the subject’s modus operandi. Pointing out the antithesis between phallus and superego as the only instance that imposes jouissance, we establish the difference between drug abuse as a suspension of phallic jouissance, as proposed by Lacan (1975/1976)Lacan, J. (1976). Clotûre aux Journées d’Etudes des Cartels. Lettres de l’Ecole Freudienne de Paris, 18, Paris, abril de 1976. (Trabalho original publicado em 1975)., and compulsive repetition that exhausts the subject and results in failure.
Key words:
Neurosis; phallus; superego; drug
