Use Ecology and Drug Use Motivations of Methamphetamine Users Admitted to Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities in Los Angeles

Abstract

Who are methamphetamine (MA) users and what are the circumstances that surround their drug use? This article provides a foundation for future ethnographic studies and collaborative clinician-researcher assessments of MA use by describing use ecology and drug use motivation for 260 MA users admitted to treatment at public Los Angeles County facilities in 1996. Use ecology data include MA varieties and street names, first introductions to use, drug use histories, access, selling and manufacturing, routes of administration, unwanted results of use, and participants' use behavior in the year before the 1996 treatment. Use motivation data describe clients using MA as a substitute for other stimulants; to cope with mental distress; to stay awake; to enhance sexual experience; and to lose weight. Qualitative case studies illustrate the findings and demonstrate the complex inter-relations of society, culture, psyche and soma shaping MA use over time.