Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ...
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Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ...

Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ... Narcotics research, rehabilitation, and treatment. Hearings, Ninety ...

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198CONCLUSIONSCertain patterns emerge from the results of this study. One of the mostrelevant is the alarmingly widespread use of heroin in the District of Columbia.Forty-five percent of offenders entering the District of Columbia jail are heroinaddicts. Further, there is reason to believe that hard narcotics are l>pginningto reach a younger population. Although addicts at the District of Columbiajail started using drugs in their late teens or early twenties, drug use today isstarting at about 15 or 16 years of age. The profound implications of this problemfor society are apparent. Addicts must turn to antisocial behavior, at least inpart, to support their habit. And this deviant behavior will continue to increaseas a function of addiction.Another important finding is the lack of difference between addicts and nonaddictsin the criminal justice system. It appears to be a widely held belief thataddicts belong to a subculture with its own unique membership characteristicsquite distinct from the nonaddict criminal subculture. However, the similaritybetween addicts and nonaddicts in terms of personal and social characteristicsand, to some extent, drug use (marihuana) suggests that both addict and nonaddictoffenders may. in fact, belong to a single subculture characterized by avariety of illegal activties, one of which is use of hard narcotics.Although, for the most part, addicts and nonaddicts share common characteristics,there are a few areas in which they differ. For example, nonaddicts tendto have more ties to the community—come from larger families and attendreligious services with much greater frequency—than addicts. These indicationsof a closer relationship with the community may, in effect, provide additionalsupport which the addict finds lacking.Addicts, on the other hand, appear to be more urban, having been born andreared in large cities to a much greater extent than nonaddicts.The results a' so point out a difference between addicts and nonaddicts in termsof the offenses with which they are charged. This provides some support for theidea that addicts do not commit crimes against people with the same frequencyas nonaddict offenders.Contrary to the stereotype of an unstable, highly mobile personality, the narcoticsaddict appears to be able to retain employment. A surprisingly high percentageof addicts were employed at the time of arrest and. indeed, almost halfof the addicts claim to have supported their heroin habit in part through work.Further, adicts showed a certain stability of behavior—at least to thf extent ofnot differing from nonaddicts—in maintaining themselves in the military.One further point that deserves mention is the apparent interest that mostaddicts have in stopping their own drug use. The great majority have been offdrugs at some time during the past several years. Most addicts al.so l)elieve.realistically or not. that they can give up drugs on their own. In addition, evenbefore the citywide narcotics treatment program was imniemented in whichmethadone was used as one technique of treating heroin addiction, most addictshad heard about methaone. and a majority of these believe it was a good formof treatment. This favorability toward methadone may provide a treatmentclimate which could facilitate rehabilitation.In conclusion, it should he mentioned that intensive research in narcotics addictionand treatment has, in a sense, very recently begun. Very little seems to beknown about the addict. This study provides some basic descriptions of a specificaddict population. Hopefully, those findings will suggest new areas of researchaimed at combating the problem of heroin addiction in the community.TABLE 1.—POSITIVE URINALYSES FOR MORPHINE AND OR QUININE AND SELF-REPORTED HEROIN DEPENDENCEAddictUrinalyses and self-reoorts:Interview positive; urine oositiveInterview/ positive; urine negativeInterview positive; no urineInterview negative; urine positiveInterview negative; urine negative...Interview negative; no urineTotal 100 100

199TABLE 2.—SELF-REPORTED USE OF DRUGSAddict Non-addict TotalNumber Percent Number Percent Number PercentEver used drugs:YesNoNo answer962Total.First drug of abuse:MarijuanaHeroinCocaine __-OtherNo answer; don't knowTotal

199TABLE 2.—SELF-REPORTED USE OF DRUGSAddict Non-addict TotalNumber Percent Number Percent Number PercentEver used drugs:YesNoNo answer962Total.First drug of abuse:MarijuanaHeroinCocaine __-OtherNo answer; don't knowTotal

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