Release Date
Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
This article explores reported practices of, and motivations for, diversion of methadone and buprenorphine, in a group of imprisoned individuals in opioid maintenance treatment (OMT).
Findings/Key points
Their acquired norm of sharing with others in a drug using community was maintained when entering OMT. Giving one’s prescription opioids to an individual in withdrawal was indeed seen as an act of helping, something that takes on particular significance for couples in which only one partner is included in OMT and the other is using illicit heroin. As we see it, the need to sustain oneself as a decent person in one’s own eyes and those of others through practices such as sharing and helping should be recognized.
Design/methods
28 interviews of 12 participants