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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Int J Drug Policy. 2011 Jun 20;23(1):37–44. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2011.05.014

Table 3.

Patterns of Opioid and Heroin Use (n=50)

Total
(n=50)
Inject Opioid
Before Heroin
(n=15)
Inject Heroin
Before Opioid
(n=25)
Never Inject
Opioid
(n=10)
Initiated Injection Drug Use

    Opioid 11 (22%) 11 (73.3%) 0 0
    Heroin 25 (50%) 0 18 (72%) 7 (70%)
    Cocaine or Methamphetamine 14 (28%) 4 (26.7%) 7 (28%) 3 (30%)

Means Ages of Initiation

    Opioid Misuse 14.6 13.9 14.2 16.9
    Opioid Injection 17.7 16.6 18.3 --
    Heroin 16.6 16.6 16.4 17.0
    Heroin Injection 17.5 17.9 16.8 18.8

First Opioid Injected

    Oxycontin 18 (36%) 9 (60%) 9 (36%) 0
    Dilaudid 7 (14%) 3 (20%) 4 (16%) 0
    Morphine 6 (12%) 2 (13.3%) 4 (16%) 0
    Other 9 (18%) 1 (6.7%) 8 (22%) 0

Prescription Opioids

    Self: ever prescribed 36 (72%) 13 (86.6%) 18 (72%) 5 (50%)
    Family: ever prescribed 31 (62%) 11 (73.3%) 15 (60%) 5 (50%)
    Self: ever sold 33 (66%) 12 (80%) 17 (68%) 4 (40%)

Most Frequently Used

     Opioids 19 (38%) 9 (60%) 6 (24%) 4 (40%)
     Heroin 26 (52%) 5 (33.3%) 17 (68%) 4 (40%)
     Other 5 (10%) 1 (6.6%) 2 (8%) 2 (20%)

Daily Use

     Opioids 8 (16%) 2 (13.3%) 6 (24%) 0
     Heroin 25 (50%) 5 (33.3%) 17 (68%) 3 (30%)

Never Injected Heroin 3 (6%) 2 (13.3%) 0 1 (10%)

Recruitment Site

     New York 25 (50%) 4 (26.7%) 16 (64%) 5 (50%)
     Los Angeles 25 (50%) 11 (73.3%) 9 (36%) 5 (50%)