The Authors’ Own Words: An Exploration of Alcohol Use Severity and Route of Drug Administration Among Persons That Use Heroin and Cocaine

The Authors’ Own Words: We ask authors to describe their impressions regarding the implications of their accepted work, how their findings will change practice, and what is noteworthy about the work.

An Exploration of Alcohol Use Severity and Route of Drug Administration Among Persons That Use Heroin and Cocaine

Michael Scherer, PhD; Paul T. Harrell, PhD; Rebecca C. Trenz, PhD; Sarah Canham, PhD; & William W. Latimer, PhD, MPH

Volume 37, 2016 – Issue 2

“In the current study, users of heroin and/or cocaine which also reported problematic use of alcohol were significantly less likely to inject and more likely to snort/sniff their substance of choice. The use of alcohol at problematic levels seems to impede injection as a route of administration, and may promote less harmful non-injection routes of administration. The order in which this occurs is not known through the interpretation of study findings, but these findings may provide useful information for interventionists. Though the ideal would be to reduce or extinguish heroin and/or cocaine use, such a goal may not always be feasible or practical. In such cases, protocols that allow persons that use heroin and/or cocaine to move from high-risk practices such as IDU to less risky NIDU ROAs while at the same time focusing on reductions in alcohol use may prove to be useful among this difficult to treat population of persons that use illicit drugs. Future research should be designed to specifically address the misuse of alcohol among persons that use heroin and/or cocaine transitioning from IDU to NIDU and how these individuals may fit into treatment protocols.”