Table 1.

Timelines of life events and patterns of drug use for older people interviewed

Participant	Drug use and key life events	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000
01Male, 61 years	Drug use			First cannabis and acid. Later heroin, cocaine and amphetamine		Abstinent abroad, drug taking on visits home	Meet old friends, drug use continues. Stops drinking	At interview, on methadone
	Life events	Born		10 years in London, drug taking. 18 months in prison for drug related offences		10 years working in Middle East	Moved back to Merseyside	Suffers stroke
02Male, 54 years	Drug use				Amphetamine and acid at weekends –‘non-drug users’. Alcohol use	Nothing for about 20 years		Starts heroin and crack. At interview, methadone and a little alcohol
	Life events		Born		Engineer, property developer: successful business man			Gets married to a drug user. Prison. Hepatitis C. 9 months homeless
03Male, 56 years	Drug use			First cannabis. Later heroin because no cannabis around. 10-year break – starts again because of accident		Starts using methadone		Starts using cocaine. At interview; on methadone
	Life events		Born		Accident means he can no longer work
04Male, 56 years	Drug use				First cannabis, acid and amphetamine. Opium	Starts using heroin, this becomes heavy when relationship ends	Starts using methadone	Recommences heavy heroin use following death of partner
	Life events		Born			Intermittent heroin use and work. Long-term relationship ends	Hepatitis C	Partner dies. Diagnosed with manic depression (previously misdiagnosed as depression)
05Male, 61 years	Drug use			First amphetamine, morphine and hydrochloride – drugs taken when available. Injects heroin before smoking it	White heroin, cannabis and occasionally speed and organic cocaine	Moves to brown heroin when white no longer on sale. Had 7 years off heroin but in this time, drank heavily. Major relapse after relationship ends		No drug use for time while in Holland, started using again on return when home
	Life events	Born		Starts training as a nurse	Moves to London	Relationship ends
06Male, 58 years	Drug use			First amphetamine. Is prescribed anti-depressants, heroin, cannabis	Cannabis, cocaine and heroin. Drug use increases when Mum dies	Injects cocaine, heroin. Barbiturates		Cocaine and heroin. At interview, on methadone
	Life events		Born	Detention and borstalAbusive father	Prison sentences. Moves around. Mum dies	Develops agoraphobia
07Female, 49 years	Drug use					Amphetamine. Cannabis. Heroin		Smokes cocaine (previously injected it). At interview, on methadone
	Life events		Born		Has daughter	Two long-term partners die. Resumes friendship with old drug taking friends and starts injecting. Hospitalized with abscess
08Male, 61 years	Drug use			Amphetamine, purple hearts, cannabis, speedballs, mushrooms, LSD. Drug use increases when Dad dies. Injects heroin	Benzodiazepines and injects cyclazine. On and off heroin			At interview, on methadone scripts Benzodiazepines occasionally
	Life events	Born		Dad dies. Prison terms. Gets hepatitis. Diabetes
09Male, 56 years	Drug use			Cannabis. Amphetamine	Initially uses heroin in order to sleep so he can work		Methadone	At interview, on methadone. Injects heroin. Alcohol
	Life events		Born	Drug use escalates after friend dies and after loosing his flat
10Male, 58 years	Drug use			Amphetamine. Heroin	Cannabis. Crack. Heroin on and off	Heroin		At interview, on methadone. Heroin
	Life events		Born		Travels around through work	Prison
11Female, Aged 61 years	Drug use				Starts drinking following divorce		Heroin and stops drinking. 10 years of not using heroin ends when mother dies.	At interview, on methadone
	Life events	Born		Works	Divorce. Prison sentences		Mother dies. Cirrhosis

Born, born in that decade; LSD, lysergic acid diethylamide.