NCJ Number
153140
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 24 Issue: 1 and 2 Dated: (Winter/Spring 1994) Pages: 273-292
Date Published
1994
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article presents findings from interviews with 387 adult crack users in Miami, Fla., regarding their drug use and criminal histories as well as their current involvement in a broad range of criminal activities.
Abstract
The findings show that the subjects in the study had long histories of multiple drug involvement, following clear sequential patterns of onset and progression. Virtually all subjects began their drug-using careers with alcohol, followed by marijuana; most then tried pills before proceeding to cocaine; after initial cocaine use, a significant number also experimented with heroin. Every street respondent had committed some crime in the prior 3 months, and the group totals indicate five to ten times more crime for the street respondents than for the treatment sample. These high crime-frequency levels, however, are due almost entirely to law violations associated with drug sales. In the treatment sample, some crack users committed no crime in their last 90 days on the street. The street sample was apparently a special kind of crack users subsample, a user-dealer group with well-controlled crack habits, steady criminal incomes, and a commitment to the user/dealer/street lifestyle. These respondents had a longer history of drug and crime involvement and yet had never (except for one respondent) been in drug treatment. Overall, increased levels of crack use correlate with a greater level of crime involvement. 8 tables and 31 references