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Evolving Crack Cocaine Careers

NCJ Number
179078
Author(s)
Kevin Brain; Howard Parker; Tim Bottomley
Editor(s)
Carole Byron
Date Published
1998
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report follows the cocaine careers of 79 British crack addicts.
Abstract
A regional study followed a cohort of 50 North West England crack addicts, first interviewed in 1995 and again in 1997, and also contacted a separate group of 29 relatively new crack users. By 1997, a quarter of those first interviewed in 1995 had managed to give up crack, a slightly larger group had reduced their consumption, and between a one-third and one-half were using crack daily along with a collection of other drugs, notably heroin and methadone. Resolute crack users relied heavily on acquisitive crime (theft, shoplifting, fraud and burglary), drug-dealing and prostitution to finance their drug purchases. The resolute crack users generally continued to pass through the criminal justice system and even prison without being identified as in need of any drugs interventions. Interviews with new users pointed to the spread of crack, despite its high cost and brief “buzz,” into the heavy end of the region’s recreational drug scene. References

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