Routes of drug administration, differential affiliation, and lifestyle stability among cocaine and opiate users: Implications to HIV prevention

Types of drugs used and routes of administration were assessed, and correla tions to social affiliation, HIV status, and lifestyle stability were explo red among 672 street-recruited drug users in Baltimore. Participants report ed 63 patterns of drug use, which were categorized into five groups: (1) on ly sniff heroin; (2) smoke crack and may snort cocaine; (3) sniff heroin an d smoke crack; (4) inject heroin and cocaine; and (5) inject heroin and coc aine, smoke crack, and may snort heroin. Social network analysis revealed t hat heroin sniffers and crack smokers both tended to associate with those w ith similar drug use patterns. High symptoms of drug dependence were observ ed among heroin users irrespective of mode of administration. Injectors rep orted higher rates of hospitalization compared to noninjectors even after a djusting for HIV status. Implications to HIV prevention and drug use transi tions are discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.