NCJ Number
213620
Editor(s)
Merrill Singer Ph.D.
Date Published
2005
Length
158 pages
Annotation
Five papers present recent ethnographic and epidemiological data on emerging and changing drug-use behaviors in America's inner cities.
Abstract
One paper reports on a study of ecstasy use among inner-city adolescents and young adults. Although most users reported positive experiences while on the drug, heavy users and polydrug users experienced negative effects, which led them to decrease or stop their use. Some reported using ecstasy during sex, which was associated with the irregular use of condoms. Another paper reports on a study that analyzed the micro-level processes through which ecstasy use moved from downtown clubs that catered to suburban young adults through urban youth networks via distributors and users. The research was based on participant observation and in-depth interviews with dealers and users during the period of peak expansion (1999-2001). A third paper reports on a study that examined the use of new illicit drug-embalming fluid mixtures in Hartford, CT. The study found that despite regular consumption of such mixtures, users were often uncertain about what was in the new drug. Urine analyses from a subsample of users of embalming fluid mixtures within the last 48 hours found the frequent presence of phencyclidine (PCP) as well as other drugs. Public health implications are discussed. A fourth paper reports on a survey that found widespread use of prescription painkillers (narcotics analgesics) in the inner-city which has been linked to some serious health and psychiatric conditions. The fifth paper reports on a study of the associations among drug use, fighting, criminal activity, and trauma in a sample of 292 Haitian youths in two areas of Miami/Dade County. The trauma of childhood abuse was apparently unrelated to adolescent drug use and antisocial behavior in this sample. Tabular data and references