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25 How. J. Crim. Just. 1 (1986)

handle is hein.journals/hjcj25 and id is 1 raw text is: The Howard journal Vol 25 No 1. Feb 86 ISSN 0265-5527 The Drug-Taking Careers of Opioid Users1 TREVOR BENNETT and RICHARD WRIGHT Trevor Bennett is Senior Research Associate, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge Richard Wright is Assistant Professor, Department of Administration of Justice and Center for Metropolitan Studies, University of Missouri - St Louis Abstract: The paper presents the findings of a research project which included the study of the drug-taking careers of regular opioid users. Samples were drawn from among addicts currently receiving a prescription from a NHS clinic, a general practitioner and a private practitioner and addicts who were currently dependent solely on black-market supplies. The results derived from extensive interviews showed that users exert substantial control over the progression and development of their drug taking. The policy implications of a perspective on addiction which attributes addicts with control and individual choice are discussed. Traditionally, addiction has been explained in terms of personal factors which predispose individuals to drug use (see, for example, Gold and Coghlan 1976; Greaves 1974; Khantzian 1975). Little attention was paid to the psychological and social processes by which users commence, continue and cease drug taking. Apart from offering guidance on the most appropriate form of psychiatric treatment, the policy relevance of this work was limited. Since the 1960s, however, an alternative approach has emerged which does consider the processes involved in the development of addiction. The approach is based on the concept popularised by Becker (1963) of the drug-taking 'career'. According to Becker, the development of drug use can be viewed as a progression through a series of clearly defined stages or statuses. Movement from one position in the career structure to another is not inevitable, but depends on various 'career contingencies' such as: motivation, aims and situational factors. The 'careers' approach has greater relevance to the development of official policy. Knowledge about the way in which users commence drug use, for example, could be important in the design of preventive educational programmes. Similarly, an understanding of the circumstances and conditions under which users terminate drug use is relevant to the creation of rational treatment and rehabilitation services. Most of the research on the drug-taking careers of opioid users (i.e. users of heroin, methadone, opium or other 'opium like' drugs) has been conducted in the United States. The results of this research suggest that 1

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