Padrão de consumo e evolução para dependência de pacientes internados por uso de crack

Abstract

Objectives: Evaluate the profile and patterns of consumption of crack cocaine users who were hospitalized in Pelotas, Southern Brazil. Also, it was estimated the time to become addict, since the moment crack cocaine was used by the first time. . Methods: Cross-sectional study of 162 patients with the help of a structured questionnaire evaluating socio-demographic characteristics, strategies used to obtain the drug, ways of access to the drug, and criminal history. ICD-10 criteria were used to estimate the time between first use and addiction. Results: Most patients were young men (82,1%) with low literacy level and low income. The main strategy to obtain the drug was stealing, assaulting and drug traffic. The access to drugs was considered very easy (49,4%) or easy (42%) by most of the addicts, and 86% were able to obtain the drug in less than 30 minutes. After two months of having used crack for the first time, 44% were addicts, and this proportion increased to 73% with six months of use and 87% after one year. Conclusions: Crack cocaine is very easy to obtain and it leads to addiction in a short period of time. As it is widely used, and criminal acts are commonly used for its achievement, crack cocaine is an important reason for the increase of violence in urban societies