Transcript Long periods of heavy use persist over 15 years for

A Life Course Perspective
A life course perspective of drug use
offers an organizing framework for:
• classifying distinctive patterns of drug use
over the life course,
• identifying critical events, factors, and
system interactions responsible for
continuity or change in drug use patterns
over the life course, and
• analytically ordering the immense variety of
events that occur during the life course.
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Some Lessons from Applying a Life Course Perspective
to Drug Use
1. Over the 10 years following first use of heroin, cocaine, and meth:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Long periods of heavy use (7-18 days of use per month) persist.
Users are more exposed to the criminal justice system than to
treatment (1.4 years of incarceration vs. 5 months of treatment).
Time from first use to first treatment is 7 years for heroin, 8 years for
meth, and 10 years for cocaine.
Heroin and meth users who start using before age 15 are less likely to
stop using over time.
Periods of no use are aided by treatment and self-help participation for
cocaine and meth users.
Timing of first drug treatment (early, late, or not at all) appears to
impact use patterns over time.
2. Over the 5 years following drug treatment:
a.
Even among persistent criminals, decreases in drug use and
incarceration, and increases in employment occurs.
b.
HIV risk behaviors don’t always decrease.
www.caldar.org Findings may not apply to non-treatment seeking populations.
Some Implications for Practice & Policy
•
Changes in use happen at different stages of the life
course for different people.
•
Interventions are needed to delay, and prevent, first use
of drugs.
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Treatment can be a life changing event.
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Treatment must be prompt, tailored, and ongoing.
•
Treatment impacts non-drug using behaviors and it can
benefit serious offenders.
•
Strategies are needed to engage the treatment naïve but
CJ experienced.
•
Treatment may not be necessary for everyone but it
must be available to all.
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