Heavily depends on the subculture. They were common amongst sailors and had been for a long time by the 50's. A few decades earlier than that they were also trending for royals and nobles wishing to show a connection to their countries' navies, with an outright tattoo craze sweeping the courts of Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Tattoos weren't rare in the 50's, they were unpopular. Lots of returning service men had tattoos. Men in prison had/got tattoos. And opiate based drugs were always part of the scene. There's lots of studies on this.
I remember in the late 70's someone getting a eight-ball tattooed on their shoulder and it was so edgy. lol.
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u/its_yer_dad 4d ago
Not sure about the IV bit, but the 50's are well known for heroin abuse among artists