Stages of Drug Market Disruption & Reformulation in Disaster Cities

描述(由申请人提供)：这个为期三年的续展项目建立在母项目(R01 DA021783)取得的成功和结果的基础上，该项目侧重于卡特里娜飓风后的非法毒品市场。这项研究的重点是飓风扰乱和改变毒品市场的过程。非法毒品市场能够顽强地继续存在；它们如何自我重组，对于理解毒品市场的持久性和持续运营以及相关的健康风险行为至关重要。1-3年的研究表明，卡特里娜飓风导致新奥尔良更多的毒品使用和销售。阶段范式表明，失业和关键的社会机构增加了对非法毒品销售的参与，也增加了新奥尔良与毒品有关的暴力。在第3年，在飓风古斯塔夫(中断的新奥尔良)和艾克(中断的加尔维斯顿和休斯顿)之后进行了试点研究。加尔维斯顿的非法毒品市场是否以及如何被扰乱和重组仍然是一个关键的未知因素，特别是非法毒品市场是否像新奥尔良那样恶化。对这三场灾难(卡特里娜、古斯塔夫和艾克)的影响进行系统分析，就有机会检查和比较对不同毒品市场的影响，并比较每个社区(加尔维斯顿、休斯顿、新奥尔良)发生的重新配制阶段。具体目标：a.(扰乱的毒品市场比较)分析加尔维斯顿非法毒品市场和与毒品有关的暴力的扰乱阶段，并与新奥尔良和休斯顿的非法市场进行比较。B.(毒品市场的重组)，以审查在受灾城市(新奥尔良加尔维斯顿)和休斯顿恢复非法毒品市场时的变化阶段，许多撤离者被重新安置在那里。拟议的研究活动将主要是定性的方法。训练有素的人种学家将对这三个城市的非法毒品市场进行仔细观察，并撰写描述性的实地笔记。在三年期间(第5至第7年)，工作人员将完成对140名选定的吸毒者和销售者的深入访谈，并进行50个重点小组，250名参与者活跃在不同的市场(海洛因、可卡因、大麻等)。此外，350名使用/销售毒品的受访者将完成一项调查方案，调查方案围绕他们在古斯塔夫和艾克飓风期间和之后的经历进行组织。拟议的研究将提供重要信息，帮助制定应对非法毒品市场的公共政策，特别是在灾害期间和之后。随着全球持续变暖，墨西哥湾未来极有可能发生破坏性飓风--这些城市和其他城市可能会受到威胁。这些研究提供的信息将使当局能够制定适当的应对措施，在飓风和其他灾害期间遏制非法市场，以帮助防止在接下来的几个月和几年中恢复这些市场。 与公共健康相关：非法毒品市场很少受到拦截活动、日常治安和对被捕个人实施严厉刑事制裁的影响。全球变暖可能会导致飓风等灾害--这些事件对社区的所有人口都有非常广泛的影响，并在许多方面严重扰乱非法市场。来自该项目的信息将使当局(公共官员、警察和治疗)能够制定适当的活动和干预措施，以遏制非法毒品市场和灾害后日益增加的药物滥用和相关的健康危险行为。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This three year renewal project builds upon the success and findings emerging from the parent project (R01 DA021783) which focused upon illegal drug markets following Hurricane Katrina. This research endeavor is focused upon the processes by which drug markets are disrupted and changed by hurricanes. Illicit drug markets are tenaciously able to continue; how they reconstitute themselves is critical to understanding the persistence and continued operation of drug markets and related health risk behaviors. Research in years 1-3 reveals that the Katrina disaster resulted in more drug use and sales in New Orleans. A stages paradigm suggests that the loss of employment and critical societal institutions increased involvement in illicit drug selling and also increased drug-related violence in New Orleans. In year 3, pilot studies were conducted following Hurricane Gustav (disrupted New Orleans) and Ike (disrupted Galveston and Houston). Whether and how illegal drug markets were disrupted and reconstituted in Galveston remains a key unknown, especially whether the illegal drug markets worsen as they did in New Orleans. A systematic analysis of the impacts of these three disasters (Katrina, Gustav, and Ike) present the opportunity to examine and compare the impact upon the varied drug markets and compare stages of reformulation occurring in each community (Galveston, Houston, New Orleans). The specific aims: A. (Comparison of disrupted drug markets) To analyze the stages of disruption to illicit drug markets and drug-related violence in Galveston as a comparison with illicit markets in New Orleans and Houston. B. (Reformulation of drug markets) To examine stages of changes as illicit drug markets are restored in the disaster cities (Galveston, New Orleans) and in Houston where many evacuees were relocated. The proposed research activities will be primarily qualitative in approach. Well trained ethnographers will conduct careful observations of illegal drug markets in the three cities and write descriptive field notes. Over the three year period (year 5-7), staff will complete in-depth interviews with 140 selected drug users and sellers, and conduct 50 focus groups with 250 participants active in different markets (heroin, crack, marijuana, others). In addition, 350 drug using/selling respondents will complete a survey protocol organized around their experiences during and following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The proposed research will provide important information which will help design public policy responses to illegal drug markets, especially during and following disasters. With ongoing global warming, future destructive hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico are highly likely-these and other cities could be threatened. Information from these studies will enable authorities to develop appropriate counter measures to contain illegal markets during hurricanes and other disasters to help prevent their restoration in the following months and years. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Illegal drug markets are rarely impacted by interdiction activities, routine policing, and impositions of serious penal sanctions upon individuals arrested. Global warming may contribute to disasters like hurricanes occurring--these events have a very wide impact on the entire population of a community, and severely disrupt illegal markets in many ways. Information from this project will enable authorities (public officials, police, and treatment) to develop appropriate activities and interventions to contain illegal drug markets and increased substance abuse and related health risk behaviors following disasters.