Codeine cough syrup use among African-American crack cocaine users

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Substance Abuse Research
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Prevalence of crack cocaine and codeine cough syrup use is a known issue.
• The relationship between concurrent use of these substances and polydrug use patterns remains under-researched.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences between concurrent codeine cough syrup users and non-users among African-American crack cocaine users.
• To identify factors associated with polydrug use involving crack cocaine and codeine cough syrup in Houston, Texas.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 482 African-American crack cocaine users.
• Logistic regression analysis was employed to identify significant associations.

Main Results:

• Codeine cough syrup use was associated with younger age and lower educational attainment.
• Concurrent codeine users were more likely to lack a main sexual partner, trade sex for money, and use marijuana and 'fry' (marijuana cigarettes laced with crack cocaine).
• Significant associations were found between codeine use and specific demographic and behavioral factors.

Conclusions:

• Findings highlight unique patterns of polydrug use among younger African Americans involving crack cocaine and codeine cough syrup.
• The study provides empirical evidence beyond anecdotal accounts regarding the co-occurrence of these substance uses and associated risk factors.