Abstract
The objective of this work is to describe the prevalence of various types of illicit drug use among adolescents treated in a comprehensive ambulatory medical service, located in a lower-middle and low-income area of New York City. About 65% of the patients are Medicaid eligible. 44% are of Puerto Rican or other Latin American origin. 5% could be termed “hippies”. 45% are boys. A review of records of 523 patients registered in a 16 month period shows that 31% are known to be seriously involved with drugs other than marijuana. These are patients not referred to our service for a drug problem, but, for various medical conditions or routine examinations. 19% of our patients use heroin; 9% use barbiturates and other depressants; 7% use amphetamine and other stimulant pills (“ups”); 6% use LSD or mescaline; 5% use methedrine by injection (“speed”). Mixed use is common. 37% of these drug abusers are 16 years of age or younger. 60% are boys. 36% of the drug users are of Puerto Rican or other Latin American origin. 13% are “hippies”. The majority live at home and attend school. Information concerning patterns of use, means of acquiring drugs, attitudes and knowledge of effects, based on in-depth interviews with about 40 drug users, will be discussed.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chall, M., Blatman, S. Patterns of illicit drug use among patients in an adolescent medical service. Pediatr Res 5, 376–377 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197108000-00025
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197108000-00025