First Injection Event: Differences Among Heroin, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, and Ketamine Initiates

• NCJ Number: 231968
• Journal: Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 40 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2010 Pages: 241-262
• Author(s): Stephen E. Lankenau; Karla D. Wagner; Jennifer Jackson Bloom; Bill Sanders; Dodi Hathazi; Charles Shin
• Date Published: 2010
• Length: 22 pages
• Grant Number(s): DA015631
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes how the drug type injected at the first injection event is related to characteristics of the initiate, risk behaviors at initiation, and future drug-using trajectories.

Abstract

A diverse sample (n=222) of young injection drug users (IDUs) were recruited from public settings in New York, New Orleans, and Los Angeles during 2004 and 2005. The sample was between 16 and 29 years old, and had injected ketamine at least once in the preceding two years. Interview data was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Young IDUs initiated with 4 primary drug types: heroin (48.6 percent), methamphetamine (20.3 percent), ketamine (17.1 percent), and cocaine (14 percent). Several variables evidenced statistically significant relationships with drug type: age at injection initiation, level of education, region of initiation, setting, mode of administration, patterns of self-injection, number of drugs ever injected, current housing status, and their hepatitis C virus (HCV) status. Qualitative analyses revealed that rationale for injection initiation and subjective experiences at first injection differed by drug type. Tables and references (Published Abstract)