NCJ Number
102183
Date Published
1985
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Interviews with 354 male narcotic (principally heroin) addicts from the Baltimore metropolitan area provide data on the percentage of addicts' total income derived from illegal sources during periods of addiction and nonaddiction.
Abstract
The stratified random sample was from a population of 6,149 narcotic users arrested or identified by the police between 1952 and 1976. Subjects were interviewed between July 1973 and January 1978. To be eligible for the study, subjects must have used addictive drugs on at least 4 days a week for at least 1 month while in the community. Most addicts derived the bulk of their income illegally. There was little difference between black and white addicts' dependence on crime for income, contrary to the findings of earlier studies. There was a significant difference between dependence on crime income during addictive and nonaddictive periods, reflecting earlier findings on reduced crime during nonaddictive periods. A notable new finding in this study was the existence of a small group of addicts with no illegal income even during addictive periods. There was a considerably larger group minimally dependent on illegal income even during addictive periods. These findings have implications for drug treatment classification. 6 references and 2 tables.