NCJ Number
118610
Date Published
1977
Length
162 pages
Annotation
This book focuses on the first community treatment project designed to alter the addict subculture in Chicago.
Abstract
The goal of this 1968 program was to lower the number of heroin addicts at the location of the "Wall of Respect" in Chicago through the implementation of a multi-modality treatment program. An ex-addict field team was assembled to perform a variety of epidemiological functions related to program planning, intensive case-finding, and intervention activity. The social dynamics operating within the addict subculture include codes against informing, the importance of status and reputation among the addicts, the prevalence of violence, and the use of aliases and code words. Another important dynamic was the "copping area," the neighborhood heroin distribution site, where addicts frequented on a regular basis to buy drugs. The history of Chicago's post-World War II heroin epidemic is documented. Efforts to incorporate epidemiological functions into the Illinois Drug Abuse Program and relevant work by others to do this elsewhere are reviewed. Recommendations to further develop the epidemiological potential of the current treatment system include: a decentralized system of mobile epidemiological field teams, further study of drug epidemics, and the inclusion of community involvement and job training in treatment programs. The Chicago experience suggests that the course of heroin epidemics can be altered by systematic intervention. 19 figures, 116 notes, and index.