Barry Spunt

Volume of Cocaine Use and Violence: A Comparison between Men and Women:

This paper examines the cocaine-violence relationship among samples of male and female street drug users using volume of cocaine use as the primary independent variable. Data derive from two ethnographic studies undertaken on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Subjects were studied as both perpetrators and victims of violence. The research was guided by a tripartite conceptual model of the general relationship between drugs and violence. A number of significant differences between males and females are identified and discussed. These findings, together with those of a previous analysis of the relationship between frequency of cocaine use and violence, provide evidence of the complexity of the drugs-violence relationship in general, and cocaine-violence relationships specifically.

Gambling among Methadone Patients

In this paper we assess participation in various forms of gambling activities and establish the prevalence of pathological gambling in a sample of patients (N = 117) enrolled in a large methadone maintenance treatment program in New York City. Respondents were interviewed with a protocol that incorporates the South Oaks Gambling Screen. We found that gambling was a common part of the regular activities of many patients, that 15% of the patients had some problem with gambling, and that an additional 16% were probable pathological gamblers. The implications of our findings are discussed.

Patterns of Cocaine Use among Methadone Clients

This paper presents data on cocaine use and its consequences among 368 methadone-maintained clients. Data come from the Tristate Ethnographic Project (TRISEP), a study of methadone maintenance at four treatment programs in three states. Cocaine is a part of the drug use and social life of clients in methadone treatment; it is found not only among a handful of deviant clients but also among one-fifth of clients otherwise compliant with program rules. Cocaine is reported to be a high-status drug among clients, but one with potentially dangerous consequences. Cocaine is associated with increased criminal activity and exposure to violence and the addict life-style. It is reported to be a substitute high, an economic drain on the client user, and a possible route back into the life-style of addiction. Cocaine use, and the consequences stemming from that use, may affect the success or failure of treatment and, therefore, is of critical importance to the treatment community.

Race/ethnicity and gender differences in the drugs-violence relationship

This article examines the drug relatedness of violent events reported by White, Black, and Hispanic male and female street drug users from New York City. The primary purpose is to determine if the drugs-violence relationship varies for these different populations of drug abusers. Drug relatedness is assessed according to a tripartite conceptual model of the general relationship between drugs and violence. Significant race/ethnicity and gender differences were found in regard to the number of violent events manifesting specific drug-related dimensions of violence, the drugs associated with these violent events, and the primary reasons for the occurrence of these events. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Trauma, Drugs and Violence Among Juvenile Offenders

Abstract Trauma typically occurs when one experiences a situation where life has been threatened or lost. If the trauma is not resolved, negative residual effects may result in alcohol and drug use, involvement in violent activities as well as the development of mental health problems such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Findings from a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded study examining the link between trauma, drug use and violence among youth are presented. Results from interviews with 414 juveniles remanded to the Office of Children and Family Services (formerly New York State Division For Youth) for assault, sexual assault, robbery or homicide, document the trauma experienced by these youth, as well as how it correlated with their drug usage and participation in violent, illegal activities. Discussion of these findings, their implications for understanding and intervening, and recommendations for future research are highlighted.

Convicted Women Who Have Killed Children A Self-Psychology Perspective

Because the innocence and vulnerability of children typically arouse feelings of nurturance and protectiveness, how do we understand homicides involving women who have killed children? As part of a NIDA-funded study that examined the role of drugs in homicides committed by women, life history interviews with 42 women convicted of killing children were conducted. Repeated experiences of damage to the self, including physical and sexual victimization, suicide attempts, and substance abuse, were evident throughout the lives of these women. The extent that these self-damage indicators interfered with the womens ability to parent children is discussed. Links between these self-damage experiences and the homicide are explored.

Patterns of Criminal Activity among Methadone Clients and Current Narcotics Users Not in Treatment

Much prior research has looked at the changes in criminal activity of narcotics addicts when they enter methadone maintenance treatment programs. Because of the special nature of methadone, a drug which produces a cross-tolerance to other opiates in the user making continued heroin use difficult, the methadone treatment population has also been examined for answers to basic questions about the relationship between drug use and crime. This paper draws on interviews and ethnographic data collection with 368 methadone maintenance clients and 142 narcotics users not currently in treatment to explore the relationship between drug use and criminal activity. Results indicate that methadone clients are not only less involved in criminal activity than users not in treatment, but also among those clients who do continue criminal activity, there is less involvement in more serious crimes such as robbery, burglary, or dealing heroin and cocaine. The differences between those in treatment and those not in treatment are not a function of a lower level or criminal activity prior to treatment, but relate to being in treatment. Methadone clients who continue to commit crime are either clients continuing to use heroin and/or cocaine or clients for whom crime is an income or an income supplement.

Drug Use by Homicide Offenders

This article uses data derived from interviews with 268 homicide offenders incarcerated in New York State correctional facilities to examine their drug use prior to and at the time of the homicide, and their perceptions as to whether and how the homicides were related to their drug use. Most respondents who used a drug were not hard-core users of that drug. About one in five of the respondents could be considered polydrug abusers. Thirty percent of the sample believed that the homicide was related to their drug use. Alcohol was the drug most likely to be implicated in these homicides. The implications of this research are discussed.

An Instant Shot of “Aah”: Cocaine Use Among Methadone Clients

†This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (1 H81 DA 02300-01) to Narcotic and Drug Research, Inc., New York, and the Division of Substance Abuse Services, New York State. Opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the policy of NIDA or the Division of Substance Abuse Services.

Methadone Diversion: A New Look

This paper examines the nature and extent of methadone diversion, drawing on interviews and ethnographic data collection with methadone maintenance clients and current narcotics users not in treatment. We explore the social as well as the economic role of diversion in the drug world and find that it is a more complex phenomenon than the simple monetary transaction it is often portrayed to be. Our data indicate that selling or sharing of methadone by methadone clients, though still uncommon, is the primary source of street methadone. We find that removal of take-home dosages from the client population would have deleterious effects on retaining in treatment many otherwise compliant clients and would have minimal effect on diversion. A flexible and differentiated approach might help to reduce diversion while a singular, punitive administrative approach is unlikely to do more than simply contain the situation on the surface and drive it underground.