Heroin Use in the Barrio: Solving the Problem of Relapse or Keeping the Tecato Gusano Asleep

Abstract

The Chicano heroin addict or “tecato” belongs to a subculture that profoundly influences addict behavior and personality. Life-history interviews with a subsample of 18 Southern California ex-tecatos who were abstinent from 2.3 to 24.5 years revealed that tecatos employ the metaphor of an indestructable junkie worm or “tecato gusano” living in their vicera to explain heroin relapse, and abstinence in a manner essentially consistent with learning theories of opioid addiction. The study showed that ex-tecatos use a variety of coping mechanisms for maintaining abstinence and for avoiding “dangerous situations” which could trigger heroin craving and relapse. The research also revealed that being an ex-tecato does not necessarily imply living a crime free or nondeviant lifestyle, and that the process of working out of addiction involves two complementary social adjustment processes termed (a) extrication (from the tecato subculture) and (b) accommodation (to square society). Suggestions for utilizing these findings for treatment intervention purposes are offered.