The framework of narrative criminology promotes the perspective that narratives, in addition to shedding light on past conduct and experience, have the ability to serve as actions themselves, but also to influence behavior (Presser, 2009). In this study, I applied the theoretical and analytical framework of narrative criminology to identify and examine notable characteristics in stories, or narratives, of illicit drug use as a coping strategy. To elicit these stories, I conducted three semi-structured interviews in the context of Malmö, Sweden centered around the topic of drug use as coping, and identified three narrative ‘themes’ common to all three stories. I further analyzed these themes to locate 1) cultural narratives, 2) how the participants negotiated agency and 3) how they employed narrative strategies to make sense of their relationship to drugs as of today. The findings of the current study lend support to many of the cornerstones of narrative criminology, suggesting that cultural narratives present in the dominant discourse can be located in individual accounts, but also that the adoption of certain narratives can promote change. I have highlighted that a narrative focus might serve as useful in drug treatment and that harm reduction and the promotion of mental wellbeing should be the main concern of Swedish drug policy, and that while narrative criminology is a useful framework for locating the effects on stories on behavior and drug use specifically, it should still be utilized in tandem with other available theoretical devices in criminology.