The validity of drug use self-reports among hard core drug users in a household survey in Puerto Rico: comparison of survey responses of cocaine and heroin use with hair tests

The relationship between heroin use and street crime has been studied for the better part of this century, but the findings have been inconclusive. Research in this area has been limited to analyses of criminality in terms of arrest data, and samples have been drawn only from officially known populations of drug users. The present study focuses on a sample of 356 active heroin users from Miami, Florida, and data have been collected de scribing their officially known and self-reported criminal activity. The data indicate that, while active heroin users are heavily involved in street crime, any relationship between drug use and crime is much more complex than has been generally believed. The findings of the research suggest that the wrong questions may have been asked in previous studies of the drugs/crime nexus.

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Dermatologic Manifestations of Underlying Infectious Disease among Illicit Injection-Drug Users

Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery ◽

10.2310/7750.2008.06165 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 71-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

David Blondin ◽

Richard I. Crawford ◽

Thomas Kerr ◽

Ruth Zhang ◽

Mark W. Tyndall ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Hiv Infection ◽

Injection Drug Users ◽

Drug Users ◽

Oral Lesions ◽

Use Patterns ◽

Drug Use Patterns ◽

Self Reports ◽

Dermatologic Manifestations ◽

Bloodborne Infections

Background: Drug use patterns and serious bloodborne infections commonly have dermatologic manifestations among illicit injection-drug users (IDUs). Objective: To assess how self-reported skin conditions of IDUs may correlate with underlying infectious diseases after adjustment for drug use patterns. Methods: Prospective analysis of factors associated with self-reports of skin rashes, cellulitis, oral lesions, and lymphadenopathy obtained from 1,065 IDUs enrolled in a large cohort study. Variables potentially associated with each outcome were evaluated using multivariate generalized estimating equations. Results: In multivariate analyses, drug use patterns were associated with cellulitis, whereas human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and hepatitis C (HCV) were not. HCV infection was independently associated with skin rashes (odds ratio [OR] 1.85; 95% Cl 1.17–2.94). HIV infection was independently associated with lymphadenopathy (OR 2.00; 95% CI 1.52–2.63), skin rash (OR 2.12; 95% CI 1.57–2.86), and oral lesions (OR 14.95; 95% CI 9.41–23.76). Conclusions: Self-reports of IDUs, which could easily be obtained as part of a functional inquiry in a clinical setting, correlate with specific drug use patterns and underlying bloodborne infections.

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Pretreatment Drug Use by Patients Entering Drug Treatment Programs during 1971–1973

Journal of Drug Education ◽

10.2190/2wa6-vy1u-8xt3-f112 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 53-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

D. Dwayne Simpson

Keyword(s):

Drug Abuse ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Drug Use ◽

Drug Users ◽

Age Groups ◽

Treatment Programs ◽

Abuse Reporting ◽

Polydrug Use ◽

Heroin Use ◽

National Drug

Patterns of pretreatment drug abuse are described for 28,419 drug users who entered community-based treatment centers that participated in the national Drug Abuse Reporting Program during 1971–1973. Daily heroin use was reported by 60 per cent of the patients; one-third used daily heroin but no nonopioids, one-third used daily heroin and either cocaine, marihuana, or both, and the remainder used other nonopioids (particularly barbiturates) with daily heroin. Polydrug use (three or more nonopioids) was common among the patients who used no heroin or used it infrequently. As expected, polydrug use was most frequent among younger individuals, while daily heroin use (especially without other drugs) was increasingly prevalent among older age groups. Although alcohol use in at least moderate amounts was reported by only a third of the sample, it was most frequent among polydrug users, and was least frequent among daily users of heroin only. Within groups categorized by general patterns of illicit drug use, however, prevalence of alcohol use was higher among males than females, and increased with age.

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