Role Of Drug Use Research Articles

HIV prevention among drug users: an international perspective from Thailand.

All too often in reviews of HIV prevention needs, the role of drugs is summarily dismissed, especially in contexts where the heterosexual epidemic is the primary mode of transmission. Substance use and abuse, particularly injection drug use, play a paramount role in maintaining the heterosexual spread of HIV, as well as in maintaining epidemics where heterosexual spread of the infection has come under control due to prolonged and concerted HIV prevention activities. This article presents several themes to place in the developing country context what we have learned about substance use-related HIV prevention and the special problems of HIV interventions. First, the article briefly examines the international production and trade routes of opium and heroin and their role in the HIV epidemic, as well as the importance of substance abuse in heterosexual epidemics. Second, it presents a case study of HIV control that has been internationally acclaimed as one of the few successes in achieving a meaningful reduction in heterosexually transmitted HIV--Thailand. The Thai response to the injection drug use HIV epidemic, however, has been muted, and its impact on future epidemic dynamics is evaluated. The article concludes with a discussion of existing research gaps concerning the role of drug use in HIV epidemics in the developing world, with Thailand as an example.

Fat distribution in relation to drug use, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, and the use of antiretroviral therapies in Hispanic patients with HIV infection.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated fat-redistribution syndrome is still a subject of controversy. There is, as yet, little agreement on the definition, etiology, and prevalence of the syndrome. Many studies have examined medication or disease-related factors. Fewer studies have examined patient-related factors. Illicit drug use is an important risk factor for HIV infection, yet the role of drug use in fat distribution has not been well described. We examined fat distribution, measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, in relation to drug use, smoking, and alcohol use in Hispanic patients with HIV infection and control group of HIV-negative drug users. Our results suggest that neither drug use nor alcohol consumption are predictors of fat distribution. However, among men, smoking was independently associated with less total fat, less trunk fat, and more appendicular fat. The role of patient-specific factors in the etiology of HIV-associated fat-redistribution syndrome warrants further investigation.

Social Relationships of Crime-Involved Women Cocaine Users

Social relationships play a significant role in drug use and recovery, perhaps especially for women. Research on social relationships among crime-involved women drug users is reviewed, including both well established findings and more recent topics of inquiry. Several open questions about social relationships of women drug users are then examined in data from a study conducted in the Miami (Florida) metropolitan area in 1994–1996. For a study of barriers to drug treatment for crime-involved women cocaine users, over 400 women were interviewed in treatment programs and an equal number were recruited on the street. Respondents were asked about their social relationships during the last 30 days on the street in regard to both legal and illegal activities. This included crime partnerships, help obtaining cocaine, living arrangements, help with living expenses, children and help with child care, help with several ordinary problems, and pressures to enter treatment. The analysis looks at how much social support crime-involved women cocaine users have in their ordinary daily activities, who provides this support, and findings from this data set relative to open questions in the literature.

PATTERNS OF DRUG USE, DRUG TRAFFICKING, AND OTHER DELINQUENCY AMONG INNER‐CITY ADOLESCENT MALES IN WASHINGTON, D.C.*

This paper examines (1) the relationship between drug involvement among inner‐city youths and the commission of other kinds of crime, (2) the role of drug use in crime commission, (3) the connection between crime and drug procurement, and (4) the factors that distinguish between individuals as a function of (a) levels of involvement in drug trafficking and (b) drug usage and criminal activity.Drug use and trafficking were both related to other criminal activities; the type of drug involvement was related to the type of crimes reported. The heaviest users were significantly more likely than nonusers to commit property crimes and drug traffickers were significantly more likely to commit crimes against persons than were respondents who did not sell drugs. Adolescents who used and sold drugs were the most likely to commit crimes against persons and property, and at the greatest rate. Still, for every type of crime reported in the past year, only a minority of offenders reported ever using drugs while committing the crime or said that they committed any type of crime in order to obtain drugs or money to obtain drugs. Most youths appear to commit crime for reasons completely independent of drugs.