Exploring heroin consumption

Abstract

In this report we explore some aspects of heroin consumption, using the data we collected through the face-to-face interviews and comparing our findings with data from other research and monitoring sources. We focus on Italy, the Netherlands and England, the three sample Member States where we have the most robust data from our face-to-face interviews. We worked with purposive samples to gain insights into the demand side of the drugs market. Occasional, non-dependent heroin use proves to be rather rare. We therefore do not differentiate between user types but focus only on regular or PHUs. The main issues of concern in our questionnaires were using and buying behaviours i.e. where drug users buy, what considerations play a role in their behaviour, etc.