NCJ Number
162321
Journal
Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 31 Issue: 4 Dated: (March 1996) Pages: 519-527
Date Published
1996
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article contains evidence supporting claims that the availability and use of crack are increasing in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Abstract
To investigate claims of increased availability and use of crack in Sao Paulo, the authors used the databases from two outpatient clinics for drug users at a public hospital and examined the changes in the reported routes of administration (smoking, snorting, or injecting) of cocaine among 245 patients who had attended between 1990 and 1993. The proportion reporting crack use increased from 17 percent in 1990 to 64 percent in 1993. It does not appear that this increase was simply the result of changes in demographic variables. It is not known why crack use has increased among cocaine users attending outpatient clinics in Sao Paulo. Patients report that crack is cheaper than cocaine powder, so it may simply be a matter of economics. Treatment policies need to be reviewed and, because crack use has been shown to be an independent risk factor for HIV infection, HIV harm-reduction programs should focus more on the risks of sexual transmission. Table, figure, references, abstracts in Spanish and French