Transcript heroin cocaine

• 266 addicts took part.
They were already
participating in a drug
treatment programme
in Switzerland. There
was a mean age of 30.
97 women took part,
and 168 men. They
were examined over an
18month period.
• To investigate if supplying
heroin via a medical
programme, alongside the
use of counselling will
reduce the use of illicit
cocaine.
• It was an ethical study as
participants had the right to
withdraw and fully informed
consent.
• Qualitative data is gained
from self report and
interviews, which adds
validity.
• There was a naturalistic study,
there was no manipulation of
variables, so there should be
ecological validity.
• Long term effects of drug
used were able to be studied.
• Independent researchers
were used so there was no
researcher bias.
• The programme: Supplied narcotic drugs at a clinic, a daily injection of heroin,
counselling, and social and medial care.
• In return they agreed not to sell drugs, mix the with illicit cocaine, not to smuggle drugs
out, and there was no violence, Counselling sessions were compulsory.
• Participants had an interview every 6 months to see if there was a reduction in drug use.
The interview asked questions about mental health problems, seriousness of addiction,
and how addicts responded to behaviour and emotion over the last 30 days. This
information was cross checked with urine studies, which showed the amount of illegal
drug intake. This occurred twice a month. They were also examined for HIV and hepatitis.
Aim
Blättler 2002
Drug Treatment
• Self report data may not be
reliable as there is likely to be
bias in the data.
• Generalisation is limited to drug
users in Switzerland, and only
heavy drug users. (Low
population validity)
• Being on the study, and being
given more attention may have
altered drug using behaviour.
• Cause and effect relationship is
hard to establish due to the
numerous variables involved.
• Participants may have gone on
the programme in order to gain
free drugs, not to beat the habit.
• After 18 months on the
programme, cocaine use had
reduced by 48% (from 84%),
which for daily users was a
reduction of 30% to only 6%.
• The change in the number of
non-users went up from 16% to
52%. 75% tested negative for
cocaine in the urine tests.
• Those who initially injected
both heroin and cocaine,
were more likely to continue
cocaine use.
• Cocaine use was linked to
prostitution and illicit heroin
use was linked to contact in
the drugs scene. This
behaviour did reduce over the
18 months, showing that the
treatment had an affect on
other behaviour, as well as
drug use.