Patterns of Multiple Drug Abuse: 1969-1971

Abstract

Information concerning types and frequencies of pretreatment drug abuse, obtained by interview from 11,380 patients included in the first two years (June 1969-June 1971) of the NIMH-TCU Drug Abuse Reporting Program, were examined with respect to patterns of usage. Twenty-eight patterns were defined, involving various combinations of drugs used and frequencies of use. The results indicated that the most frequent drug-abuse pattern in this patient sample, accounting for 28% of the entire sample, was the daily or weekly use of heroin with no other drugs. The daily or weekly use of heroin with cocaine, with marihuana, and with both cocaine and marihuana were also frequently observed patterns, and combined with the heroin-only pattern, they characterized the majority of all the patients. The most common patterns reported by the remainder of the patients were of poly-drug use, typically involving marihuana, amphetamines, and barbiturates, as well as heroin and cocaine.