A Qualitative Study of Women in Drug Markets

描述（由申请人提供）：以前对非法药物市场的研究主要集中在男性销售者身上，或者对他们的药物销售样本进行了名义上的性别分析。关于妇女在毒品经济中的作用的人种学研究主要集中在纽约市的低收入社区或美国以外。这一拟议的36个月项目的总体目标是对旧金山弗朗西斯科湾区的妇女贩毒者进行定性研究。我们将采用民族志抽样技术，招募160名参与者（每个药物组40名：大麻、俱乐部药物、海洛因和兴奋剂），他们在过去六个月内出售或交换过五次或以上毒品。将从这些妇女中选出一个子样本，每月进行一次密集的人种学访谈/观察，为期一年。我们打算采访18岁或18岁以上、居住在旧金山弗朗西斯科湾区的参与毒品分销的妇女。通过将研究扩展到一些不同药物的相对较低级别的销售商，我们希望采访全方位的分销商，从用户/销售商到不使用的销售商，从新成员到长期经销商，从只销售一种药物的销售商到销售其他药物的销售商，从小规模的中间人到批发商，从陌生人到朋友或亲戚的卖家和买家。研究结果将提供急需的关于女卖家独特经历的经验信息，以便设计更有效和适当的公共卫生举措和干预措施，针对对性别问题有敏感认识和针对具体性别的风险因素。该项目将提供关于性别对销售做法和个人使用模式的影响的信息，并反过来提供关于妇女销售毒品所面临的健康危险的信息。研究结果将以适合三种受众的形式发表临床医生--从事药物治疗和预防项目的人，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.