Illicit opiates in Toronto: A profile of current users

Untreated opiate use remains a significant problem in most jurisdictions. A s a precursor to developing appropriate treatments and to encouraging these individuals to seek treatment, it is essential that the characteristics of this population be understood. The present study was designed to serve a n umber of purposes, one of which was to describe the characteristics of a sa mple of opiate users in Toronto, Canada who were not currently in treatment . One hundred fourteen users using opiates regularly who were not in treatm ent and who were not actively seeking treatment were recruited through a va riety of techniques and then interviewed. The study reports on the demograp hic characteristics of this sample (age, gender, housing, income and income sources), as well as their drug use patterns, health status, previous trea tment history and other lifestyle issues. The results suggest that the samp le is relatively healthy, that most of them are users of injectable and pre scription opiates as well as other controlled drugs, and that their main so urces of income were comprised of social benefits and illegal activities. T he implications of these findings for treatment options and harm reduction policies are discussed.