DRUG-USE AMONG FEMALE ARRESTEES - ONSET, PATTERNS, AND RELATIONSHIPS TO PROSTITUTION

This study presents extensive life history information for a sample of 164 female arrestees in Manhattan who were interviewed and provided a nonymous and voluntary urine specimens in 1984-85. It provides a uniqu e opportunity to explore drug use and crime relationships in a sample that is similar to offenders currently being studied as part of the na tional Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) program. Over one-half of the female s tested positive for a drug at arrest by urinalysis. Sixty percent te sted positive for cocaine and twenty-seven percent for opiates. The fe male arrestees tended to be high school dropouts and to have come from broken homes. The majority were unmarried and had one or more childre n living with them. Approximately one-half of the arrestees had a hist ory of prostitution, and these persons were more likely to be currentl y dependent on heroin or cocaine. Analyses examine personal background s of the females, their pattern of onset of drug use, and the temporal sequence of drug use and prostitution.