We interviewed 265 cocaine-experienced methadone patients about situat
ions that occasioned their cocaine use and strategies they wed to avoi
d cocaine use. Subjects identified an average of IS situations that oc
casioned cocaine use. The three most frequently identified were having
the drug present (86% of subjects), being offered the drug (85%) and
having money available (83%). Subjects reporting fewer situations also
reported longer periods of lifetime abstinence (p < 0.01). A principa
l components analysis extracted 10 groups of situations that were most
frequently identified in combination. Subjects identified a median of
seven strategies for avoiding cocaine use; however, there was large i
nter-subject variability. This variance was not accounted for by demog
raphic variables, employment status or treatment experience. The three
strategies identified most frequently were avoiding people and places
(81%), thinking about what they could lose (76%) and leaving the situ
ation (66%). The total number and type (reactive vs. proactive) of str
ategies identified by subjects had no relationship to cocaine abstinen
ce, although four specific strategies (thinking about what could be lo
st, leaving the situation, moving to a new area and using a different
drug) were positively correlated with cocaine abstinence. We discuss i
mplications of these results for clinical practice.