Prometheus 6

The study found that the white men were more likely to supplement heroin use with inexpensive fortified wine, while the African American men were more likely to supplement heroin with crack. Most of the white men were expelled from their families when they began engaging in drug-related crime; these men tended to consider themselves as destitute outcasts. African American men had earlier, more negative contact with law enforcement but maintained long-term ties with their extended families; these men tended to consider themselves as professional outlaws.

Study Finds Different Patterns Of Street-Based Drug Use Among White And African American Men
27 Oct 2006

Among men who live on the streets and inject heroin, there are important differences between African American men and white men in their patterns of drug use, risk of health problems, and strategies for survival, according to a unique study published in PLoS Medicine.

Over the course of six years, researchers Philippe Bourgois and colleagues (University of California San Francisco and Cornell University) observed about 70 men living in the shooting encampments of the San Francisco Bay Area. At times the researchers lived with the men as part of their study, interviewing them, and recording their daily lives with photographs. The researchers also studied a database of interviews with almost 7,000 injection drug users conducted over five years, drawing out the data on differences between white and African men.

The health status of homeless heroin users is extremely poor, and they are highly stigmatized, including by health professionals. Physicians, nurses, and social workers often treat these men in emergency rooms and free clinics and regularly find the interactions frustrating and confrontational.

The researchers wanted to see whether there were differences between the white and African American heroin users. Knowledge of such differences would help the health community to provide more tailored, culturally appropriate interventions.