Street-level drug law enforcement and entry into methadone maintenance treatment.
OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that drug law enforcement encourages entry into methadone maintenance treatment.


METHODS
Survey conducted as face-to-face interviews in methadone clinics, at needle exchange centres and on the street, in areas of widespread heroin dealing and use.


METHODS
Sydney, Australia.


METHODS
Heroin users.


METHODS
Self-reported data on personal characteristics, and experience of drug law enforcement and methadone maintenance treatment.


RESULTS
Although keeping their relationship/family together emerged as the most important reason given by respondents for entering treatment, avoiding more trouble with police/courts was also rated by the majority of respondents as an important or very important reason for entering treatment. The results of logistic regression analysis show that, after controlling for other factors, heroin users who have had a friend or family member imprisoned are more likely to have tried methadone maintenance treatment. A heroin user's own experience of arrest and imprisonment was also found to increase the likelihood of having tried treatment but only when age and length of time as a regular user (which were related to the user's experience of arrest and imprisonment) were excluded from the set of control variables. Despite having extensive histories of contact with the police and criminal justice system, however, Asian, Middle Eastern and Aboriginal respondents showed less proclivity to enter treatment than Caucasian respondents.


CONCLUSIONS
Drug law enforcement may have a role to play in heroin demand reduction but its effects are not evident for all ethnic groups and the separate effects of contact with police, age and time spent in the heroin market remain unclear.
Weatherburn
D
D
Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Lind
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008691:Methadone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009294:Narcotics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018671:Needle-Exchange Programs; D009517:New South Wales; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012926:Social Control, Formal; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D013287:Illicit Drugs; D009294:Narcotics; D008691:Methadone