Characteristics of Inner City Heroin Addicts Applying for Treatment in a Veteran Administration Hospital Drug Program (Chicago)

Abstract

Based on a total sample of 469 clients processed for admission to an inner city Veteran Drug Abuse Program, reliable information was obtained from a total of 322 heroin addicts. The following is a summary profile of the “average” narcotic addict prior to program entry: Black male, age 30, and unmarried. He has an 11th grade education, including ⅓ who completed the GED while in prison. He has been unemployed for over 1 year and receives $383 per month in legitimate benefits. He began to use heroin at 21 and did not perceive himself to have a drug problem until a year later. He has been addicted for over 8 years and has made five attempts to autonomously detox while ambulatory without the benefit of a treatment program. He has been treated on two other occasions for drug abuse in formal programs. He uses heroin from 2 to 3 times per day at an average daily cost of $68. He has spent 3 years in prison for committing crimes against property or narcotic crimes. He abuses alcohol and marijuana regularly, but has discontinued his use of amphetamines, barbiturates, and hallucinogens. These have been replaced with Talwin and Pyribenzamine. His personality tends to have traits associated with the Character Disorder or Schizoid Personalities. He has been refractory to past treatment efforts.