INJECTION-DRUG USERS, CRACK-COCAINE USERS, AND HUMAN-SERVICES UTILIZATION - AN EXPLORATORY-STUDY

Estimates of the number of people addicted to heroin and cocaine run i nto the millions. How these drug abusers interact with the social serv ices system is not well understood. To gain insight into the nature an d extent of such interactions, an exploratory study was conducted to g ather information on the perceptions and utilization of human services by 44 drug abusers not in treatment. Twenty-nine injection drug users and 15 crack-cocaine users participated in focus group sessions and s tructured interviews. Participants were recruited by indigenous outrea ch workers in Dayton and Columbus, Ohio. Findings revealed a very high rate of service use by the drug users. The results raise questions ab out the role and efficacy of the social services system in identifying drug users and addressing their needs. In addition, the findings rais e perplexing questions regarding the effectiveness of acquired immune deficiency syndrome risk-reduction efforts among injection drug users and crack-cocaine users.