A Qualitative Study of Women in Drug Markets

描述(申请人提供)：以前对非法毒品市场的研究主要集中在男性卖家身上，或者对他们的毒品销售样本进行了名义上的性别分析。现有的关于女性在毒品经济中的作用的人种志工作很少，主要是在纽约市的低收入社区或美国以外。这个拟议的为期36个月的项目的总体目标是对旧金山湾区的女性毒贩进行定性研究。采用人种学抽样技术，我们将招募160名参与者(每组40人：大麻、俱乐部毒品、海洛因和兴奋剂)，他们在前六个月内销售或交换毒品五次或以上。这些妇女中的一小部分将被挑选出来，进行为期一年的每月密集的人种学访谈/观察。我们打算采访参与毒品分销的18岁或以上居住在旧金山湾区的女性。通过将这项研究扩展到一些不同药物的相对较低级别的销售商，我们希望访问全方位的分销商，从使用者/销售者到不使用的销售者，从初学者到长期经销商，从只销售一种药物的销售者到也销售其他药物的销售者，从小规模的中间人到批发商，从陌生的卖家和买家到朋友或亲戚。研究结果将提供关于女卖家独特经历的迫切需要的经验信息，以便设计更有效和更适当的公共卫生倡议和干预措施，以针对性别敏感和性别特定的风险因素。该项目将提供有关性别对分销做法和个人使用模式的影响的信息，进而提供有关贩卖毒品的妇女的健康相关危险的信息。研究结果将以适合三种受众的形式公布--临床医生--从事药物治疗和预防项目的人员，以及社会科学家。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Previous studies of illicit drug markets have focused predominately on male sellers or have made nominal gendered analyses of their drug-selling samples. The sparse ethnographic work that exists on women's roles in the drug economy has been based primarily in New York City's low income neighborhood or outside of the United States. The overall aim of this proposed 36-month project is to conduct a qualitative study of women drug sellers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Employing ethnographic sampling techniques, we will recruit 160 participants (40 from each drug group: marijuana, club drugs, heroin, and stimulants) who have sold or exchanged drugs five or more times in the prior six months. A sub-sample of these women will be selected for intensive monthly ethnographic interviews/observations for one year. We intend to interview women involved in drug distribution who are 18 years of age or older and who reside in the San Francisco Bay Area. By extending the study to relatively low level sellers of a number of different drugs, we hope to interview a full range of distributors, from user/sellers to sellers who do not use, from initiates to long term dealers, from sellers who sell one drug only to those who sell other drugs as well, from small scale go-betweens to wholesalers, and from sellers and buyers who are strangers to those who are friends or relatives. Study findings will provide much needed empirical information on women sellers' unique experiences in order to design more effective and appropriate public health initiatives and interventions that are designed to target gender-sensitive and gender-specific risk factors. This project will provide information regarding the impact of gender on distribution practices and personal use patterns and, in turn, the health-related dangers for women who sell drugs. Study results will be published in forms appropriate to three audiences clinicians -- people who work in drug treatment and prevention programs, and social scientists.