The costly bonus: cocaine related crime among methadone treatment clients

This paper examines the relationship between the use of cocaine and criminal activity among 368 current methadone maintenance clients and 142 narcotics users not in treatment. Findings include an increase of cocaine use among methadone clients in the last ten years and the indication that cocaine plays an increasingly important role in the criminal activity of both methadone clients and users not in treatment. We find a direct relationship between escalating use of cocaine and increasing involvement in crime. The relationship is related to properties of the drug itself, its costs and the lifestyle associated with cocaine use.