Stages of Drug Market Disruption & Reformulation in Disaster Cities

描述（由申请人提供）：这个为期三年的更新项目建立在母项目（R01 DA021783）的成功和发现的基础上，母项目专注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。非法毒品市场顽强地能够继续存在；它们如何自我重组对于理解毒品市场的持续存在和持续运作以及相关的健康风险行为至关重要。第1-3年的研究表明，卡特里娜灾难导致新奥尔良的毒品使用和销售增加。阶段模式表明，失业和关键社会机构的丧失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。在第三年，在古斯塔夫飓风（破坏新奥尔良）和艾克飓风（破坏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破坏和重建仍然是一个关键的未知数，特别是非法毒品市场是否会像新奥尔良那样恶化。对这三次灾难（卡特里娜、古斯塔夫和艾克）影响的系统分析提供了机会来检查和比较对不同药物市场的影响，并比较每个社区（加尔维斯顿、休斯顿、新奥尔良）发生的重新配方阶段。具体目的：a .（毒品市场中断的比较）分析加尔维斯顿非法毒品市场中断的阶段和与毒品有关的暴力，并与新奥尔良和休斯顿的非法市场进行比较。B.（毒品市场的重新规划）审查在灾后城市（加尔维斯顿、新奥尔良）和许多撤离者重新安置的休斯顿恢复非法毒品市场时所发生的变化阶段。拟议的研究活动将主要采用定性方法。训练有素的民族志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记录。在三年期间（五至七年级），工作人员将与140名选定的吸毒者和销售者进行深入访谈，并与250名活跃在不同市场（海洛因、快克、大麻等）的参与者进行50次焦点小组讨论。此外，350名吸毒者/贩毒者将根据他们在古斯塔夫和艾克飓风期间和之后的经历完成一项调查方案。拟议的研究将提供重要的信息，这将有助于制定应对非法毒品市场的公共政策，特别是在灾难期间和之后。随着全球变暖的持续，未来极有可能在墨西哥湾发生破坏性飓风——这些城市和其他城市可能受到威胁。来自这些研究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，以帮助防止其在接下来的几个月和几年内恢复。

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.