title: Cocaine--profiles, drug histories, and patterns of use of patients from Brazil.
abstract: We studied profiles and drug histories of 294 cocaine users from 15 treatment services in São Paulo, Brazil during 1996-1997. Mean age of subjects was 27 years, and 90% were male. Over 50% had used five different substances apart from cocaine, usually tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, tranquilizers, and solvents. Mean age at first cocaine use was 18.9 years by which time 87% had snorted the drug. Thirty-two percent had injected cocaine, 82% had smoked crack, and 74% reported a full route transition. Sixty-three percent reported daily cocaine use. Median duration of cocaine use was 6.3 years. Acts of acquisitive crime were common, and 56% had been arrested. Our finding are discussed in terms of implications for prevention and treatment.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psiquiatria, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil. jdunn@psiquiatria.epm.br
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Laranjeira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015897:Comorbidity; D003415:Crime; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control