Evidence from North America points to the emergence of the use of injection, rather than smoking, of crack-cocaine. As part of a ten city, NIDA-funded study, this paper reports preliminary findings of crack injection in New York City. Ethnographic observation is used to describe variability in behavioral practices used to prepare and inject crack-based drug solutions. Ethnographic interviews explore IDU's rational for initiating/employing injection as a mode of administration. Crack injectors (N=20) were recruited from parks, streets, and drug treatment settings in eleven neighborhoods in NYC. All had a history of cocaine injection and heroin use. Half began injecting crack within the past two years. Two subjects' initiation into injection was in the context of crack use. Multiple injection events per session are common. Most inject crack with injection partners and/or in communal injection settings. Reasons for injecting include: a longer and more intense 'high,' greater availability and lower cost (compared to powder cocaine), an aversion to the effects of smoking crack or to smoking drugs, and a desire to shoot a speedball. Injection practices vary but include use of lemon juice, vinegar, or rubbing alcohol, as well as the application of heat, to transform crack into injectable form. Findings suggest that crack injection, at least as a supplemental practice, is prevalent in the drug-using repertoires of some groups of heroin and cocaine users. Additionally, the prominence of situational factors in the formation of crack injection groups signals the potential for outbreaks of HIV and HCV infection among new injectors.
Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will understand the primary methods that crack-cocaine is prepared for injection, the rationale for injecting rather than smoking crack, the groups and settings where crack injection is emerging, and the implications for HIV/HCV infection among crack injectors
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Drug Injectors
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.