Characteristics of regular amphetamine users and implications for treatment

FRANÇAIS :
64 usagers réguliers d'amphétamines sont interrogés et évalués par les échelles de mesure "Opiate treatment Index" et "Severity of Dependence Scale" (échelle de gravité des toxicomanies). 62 personnes se sont injectées des drogues dans le mois précédent l'interview. Les amphétamines sont les drogues majoritaires pour 50% d'entre eux, suivies des opiacés (42,2%); 39% des usagers sont engagés dans un programme de maintenance à la méthadone, ce qui entraîne une réflexion sur les prises en charge des usages d'amphétamines au cours des traitements de substitution. Une approche de réduction des risques est nécessaire, puisque peu d'usagers souhaitent manifestement réduire ou arrêter leurs consommations de drogues.
ENGLISH:
Sixty-four regular users of amphetamine were recruited in Newcastle, a regional city of New South Wales, Australia. A structured interview was conducted, comprising background information, the Opiate Treatment Index, Severity of Dependence Scale and a stage of change measure. Key variables common to the present study and previous Australian studies were also compared. Sixty-two subjects (96.9%) reported having injected drugs in the month prior to interview. Amphetamine was nominated as the main drug of choice for half (50.0%) of the sample, followed closely by opiates (42.2%). Just over one-fifth (21.9%) of the sample were at the precontemplation stage for quitting or reducing amphetamine use, 37.5% were at the contemplation stage, 23.4% were at the preparation stage and 17.2% were at the action stage. Over one-third of the sample (39.1%) were enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), indicating that interventions for amphetamine use may need to be provided within MMT programmes. Interventions should also be available to regular amphetamine users in primary care and community settings. Services need to adopt a harm reduction approach as few users wished to reduce or abstain from all drug classes. Different interventions are indicated according to stage of change for amphetamine use, employment opportunities, gender and concurrent tranquillizer use. (Author's abstract.)