More than half of the first round interviewees (18 or 54 per cent) reported using heroin as their main drug, while a further five reported that they used mainly speed or amphetamines (15 per cent). Four (12 per cent) said that they mainly drank alcohol, while three reported that cannabis was their main drug (nine per cent) and a further three mainly used cocaine. This is broadly consistent with the data reported earlier for the whole participant group. As in the participants as a whole, there was also a high level of heroin use amongst the young women, with seven out of eight using this drug, as opposed to 11 out of 25 young men.
There was no pattern observable of the main drug used by participants in relation to cultural background, with use of heroin (and other drugs) being spread across the main ethnicity categories.
There does not appear to have been a relationship between the main drug of choice and participants’ final outcomes: heroin users were more or less equally divided between graduates and those who self-terminated from the program (Table 5.31).
Table 5.31: Main drug of use, by participants’ final program status
Main drug Total Terminated by Court Self Termination Graduation
No. % No. % No. % No. % Heroin 18 54.5 1 3.0 8 24.2 9 27.3 Speed 5 15.2 2 6.1 2 6.1 1 3.0 Alcohol 4 12.1 1 3.0 1 3.0 2 6.1 Cocaine 3* 9.1 0 0.0 1 3.0 1 3.0 Cannabis 3 9.1 0 0.0 2 6.1 1 3.0 Total 33 100 4 12.1 14 42.4 14 42.4
* One interviewee was not accepted onto the program
Income for drugs
Of the 32 interviewees in the first round who answered the following questions relating to drug use (one participant was not able to complete this section because the interview had to be terminated), 22 (69 per cent) said they obtained money to finance their drug needs mainly from theft. Of these, 12 listed heroin as their main drug and four listed amphetamines. Six people, five young men and one young woman, said their drug income came mainly from drug dealing (19 per cent). Two people, one
young woman and one young man, reported that income for drugs came from sex work (Table 5.32).
Table 5.32: Sources of income for drugs, by sex
Source of Income Total Male Female No. Per cent No. Per cent No. Per cent
Theft 22 68.7 18 56.3 4 12.6
Drug dealing 6 18.8 5 15.6 1 3.1
Sex work 2 6.3 1 3.1 1 3.1
From friends 1 3.1 1 3.1 0 0.0 Not answered 1 3.1 0 0.0 1 3.1
Total 32 100 25 78.1 7 21.9
Age of first drug use and injection of drugs
YDC participants in the first interviews were asked how old they were when they first started using their main drug. For young men, it would appear that use of heroin, speed/amphetamines and cocaine occurred from around the ages of thirteen through to sixteen, while use of alcohol and cannabis began much earlier, as was the case for one young man who reported beginning drinking when he was eight years old. Cannabis use also started earlier for the young men in this group, with those listing cannabis as their main drug reporting they started using it at the ages of eleven, twelve and fifteen.
Although numbers are low, it can be seen that the young women in the group began using heroin earlier than the young men, with six of the seven saying they started using at thirteen (Table 5.33). The young men in the group began using their drug of choice at a mean age of 14.1 years, while young women began using their main drug at 13.4 years.
Table 5.33: Age at which participants first used main drug
Age first used drug (years)
Heroin Speed/
Amphetamines
Alcohol Cannabis Cocaine Total
Male Eight 1 1
Eleven 1 1
Twelve 1 1 2
Thirteen 3 1 1 5
Fourteen 2 1 3
Fifteen 4 1 2 7
Sixteen 2 2 1 5
Eighteen 1 1
Total 11 5 4 3 2 25
Female Thirteen 6 6
Sixteen 1 1
Total 6 1 7
The YDC participants in the first interviews were also asked at what age they first injected any drug (not necessarily their current drug of choice). As with age for first use of drug of choice, young women injected drugs earlier than young men (Table 5.34), with the mean age of first injection being 13.6 years while for young men it was 15.3 years. The difference is statistically significant at the 0.02 level (t = 2.57, df = 17). This result is surprising given the small number of female participants in the
evaluation group and reinforces other findings of the evaluation that young women tend to come to the program with particularly entrenched drug use problems.
Table 5.34: Participants’ age of first drug injecting
Age first injected (years)
Heroin Speed/
Amphetamines
Cocaine Total
Male Twelve 1 1
Thirteen 1 1
Fifteen 3 3
Sixteen 5 2 7
Eighteen 1 1
Total 9 3 1 13
Female Thirteen 3 3
Fourteen 1 1
Fifteen 1 1
Total 4 1 5
Severity of drug dependence
The young people were also asked a number of questions relating to their drug use.
These questions were taken from the Severity of Dependence questionnaire and are designed to gauge level of dependence on drugs and whether drug use has increased or decreased.
Two-thirds of the young people in the first round interview group (21 or 66 per cent) responded that their drug use was much less than three months prior to starting the program, with a further four people (12 per cent) reporting it as a little less. Only one person thought their drug use had increased a little. Ten (56 per cent) of the second interview group responded that their drug use was much less than three months prior to starting the program, and one reporting it as a little less. Two thought their drug use had increased a little and a further two thought their drug use was ‘a lot more’. Of those interviewed in the second, 11 had reported their drug use to be a lot less in the first interview (61 per cent), two thought it a little less (11 per cent) and one person thought their drug use had increased a little. These results are encouraging in that they suggest that the majority of those who had reported much decreased drug use in the first interview had maintained their reduction in drug use by the time of the second interview.
Table 5.35: Drug use now, compared with three months before starting the program
Drug use more/less 1st Interviews 2nd Interviews
Number Per cent Number Per cent Much less 21 65.6 10 55.6 A little less 4 12.5 1 5.6 About the same 0 0 0 0.0 A little more 1 3.1 2 11.1
A lot more 0 0 2 11.1
No answer 6 18.7 3 16.7
Total 32 99.9 18 100.1
Participants in the first interview round were asked if they ever thought that their use of their drug of choice was ‘out of control’, but while 16 people chose to answer, half could not respond to this question. The main reason for this is that the question was asked in the present tense (for comparative purposes, as per the Severity of Dependence Questionnaire, Sutherland et al., 1986), and all participants were interviewed while on the program. This made the question irrelevant to a large number of participants, as they were not using drugs at the time of the interview.
There may also be the added difficulty that participants who may have been using drugs did not wish to disclose this, as they were meant to be abstaining from drug use at the time of the interview.
Given these limitations, it is difficult to interpret the results. However, it is worth noting that of the 16 people who answered the question in the first interview round, five said they never or almost never felt their use of their drug of choice was out of control, while four responded that they sometimes felt this way. A further seven people said they often, almost always, or always felt this way, which is not surprising given one of the criteria for coming into the program is high drug use and dependency associated with criminal activity. By the second interview round, five out of 14 people who answered the question said they never or almost never felt their use of their drug of choice was out of control, while four responded that they sometimes felt this way.
A further five people said they often, almost always, or always felt this way. Success on the program would not necessarily mean these feelings would diminish for some participants.
Over half the first interview group did not respond to the question ‘does the thought of missing [participants’ main drug] make you very anxious or worried?’ Of the 14 people who did answer, half responded that they only sometimes, or never or almost never, felt anxious or worried about missing out on the use of their drug of choice, while an equal number of people reported that they did feel anxious or worried at the thought of missing the use of their main drug often, nearly always or always. By the second interview, of the 14 people who responded to the question, 10 people answered that they only sometimes, or never or almost never felt anxious or worried about missing out on the use of their drug of choice, while four people reported that they did feel anxious or worried at the thought of missing the use of their main drug often, nearly always or always. This reduction in worry about missing drug use from first to second interviews is again encouraging for the program.
When asked how much they worried about their drug use, six participants out of the 13 in the first interview round who answered the question said they did not worry, or worried only a little. Seven participants reported they worried about their drug use quite a lot or a great deal. By the second interview round, 10 out of the 15 who answered the question said they did not worry, or worried only a little. Five participants reported they worried about their drug use quite a lot or a great deal.
In reply to the question ‘do you wish you could stop [the use of participants’ main drug]?’, four of the 11 people who responded in the first interview round said they only sometimes, almost never or never wish they could stop, while a further seven people said they wished they could stop using drugs often, nearly always or always.
By the second interview round two of the 10 people who responded said they almost never or never wish they could stop, while a further eight people said they wished they could stop using drugs often, nearly always or always.
When participants were asked how difficult they would find it stopping or going without their drug of choice three of the 10 people who answered the question in the first round responded that they would not find it difficult, while the other eight people reported they would it quite difficult, very difficult, or even impossible. By the second interview round four of the 13 people who answered the question responded that they would not find it difficult, while the other nine people reported they would it quite difficult, very difficult, or even impossible.
While it is difficult to make definitive statements about the evaluation group’s level of dependence and drug use, given that over half the group did not respond to the questions in the first round, and almost half the group did not respond to some questions in the second round, it is possible to observe that about half the people in the group that did respond to the questions had high levels of dependency, with participants in this sub-group reporting they would find it very difficult to stop their use of drugs, that they worried about their drug use, that they wish they could stop their use of drugs, and that they felt their use of drugs was often out of control. The other half of the people who responded reported they found it relatively easy to stop their use of drugs, that they did not worry much about their drug use, and that they did not feel their drug use was out of control.
In the first interviews, while only small numbers of young women responded to the above questions, it is worth noting that the young men reported that their drug use had decreased more, compared to three months prior to entering the program, than the young women. On the other hand, the young men also more often reported that they felt their drug use was out of control than the young women, while the women in the group felt more anxious about missing the use of their drug of choice than the young men. The young men said they worried about their drug use more than the young women.
In the first interview round, there were no great differences in responses according to drug of choice: heroin, speed/amphetamine, cocaine, cannabis and alcohol users all reporting a marked decrease in their drug use compared to three months before the program. However, with the caveat that numbers responding were very small, cocaine and cannabis users reported they felt their drug use was more out of control than heroin or speed/amphetamine users, and cocaine users reported a high level of anxiety around missing or stopping their drug use compared to heroin, speed/amphetamine or cannabis users. Cocaine users worried about their drug use most, followed by cannabis users, speed/amphetamine and heroin users respectively. Heroin and cocaine users wished they could stop their drug use more than cannabis or speed/amphetamine users. Cocaine and amphetamine users reported they found it more difficult to stop their drug use than cannabis or heroin users.
While numbers are too small to comment on those who were terminated from the program by the Court, graduates of the program were much less likely to report that they felt their drug use was out of control than those who left the program voluntarily.
Graduates also reported feeling less anxious about missing the use of their main drug than those who self-terminated, while both groups reported a similar level of worry about their drug use. Graduates reported they wished they could stop their drug use more than those who left the program. Both groups reported a similar level of difficulty in stopping their drug use. This suggests that graduates were more
motivated to cease their drug use than those who terminated from the program, even though levels of dependence may be similar for both groups.
Many of the young people mentioned the influence of friends in their drug use, and the difficulty of staying drug free when remaining in the same social circle:
Saw it [speed] as a big problem ‘cos it’s all around me - all my mates use it so it’s hard to say no.
Some friends are just acquaintances. Used to think they were friends. Would not see them if got out ‘cos all using drugs. The last few times I got out I could have seen them and chopped in. I know people that don’t, so I’ve just got to hang round with them.
Stopping was not hard - it all depends on who you hang around with. I was doing pretty well and I didn’t really think about it until I was hanging round with my friends. When they feel like using so do you. You think it’s a good idea. The wrong people and places. A lot of the reason why I’ve managed to stay off has been down to the Drug Court - because of going to rehab and my bail conditions.
Even if the conditions weren’t there now I still wouldn’t use it - I just don’t think about it now. Going to rehab was the thing that made the difference. I would still be using if I had not been on Drug Court. I’d be hanging round with the same people and I wouldn’t have learnt the thing that I learnt at rehab. They teach you heaps of stuff in rehab and it’s really detailed, like where your need for drugs is coming from. Really deep stuff.
When I wasn’t on Drug Court I was doing heaps more drugs than now. I wish I’d never had it in the first place. When I’m in here I don’t think about it and I don’t need it, but when I’m on the outside it’s different. My drugs habit has changed a bit since being on the program ‘cos I haven’t been hanging out with my friends much. I’ve wanted to hang out with them, but I’m on Drug Court.
For some it was not so much peer influence that led to drug use, but the need for a means of stress reduction, even if that stress was related to rehabilitation.
The speed was the easiest ‘cos once it was out of my system for more than 48 hours it didn't worry me. Speed was never the issue for me, but the weed kept popping up ‘cos I use it as a stress less thing.
When I stress I run to the bong and I still do that a little bit and I want to work on that.
I was so worried about coming off it, because I didn’t want to be sick and hang out for another shot … When I'd leave rehab I’d go and have a shot.
Many of the participants explained how the YDC had helped them reduce or stop their drug use, but some expressed anxiety about whether they could maintain their achievements.
Drug Court helped to keep my mind off it while I was on it, doing stuff all the time.
Drug Court has been very good at helping me deal with that. I don’t feel confident, though, that I will keep on the straight and narrow after Drug Court, because I’m just going to go back to the same old life that I had.
Learning to live together and live a normal life with a daily routine.
Not just - do something, get a shot, do something, get a shot.
Learning to live without drugs. Groups help you express how you feel ... You can sit back and listen to everyone else and what they’re going through, and how they avoid it.
I couldn’t stop it no matter what. Have been able to stop now ‘cos in here you can’t do it. Before would only have been able to stop for a few days. Here your head starts getting right and you think about all the shit that you’ve done. I couldn't do it on the outside. But now I’ve done it I feel like I can be all right.
YDC was very useful in helping with drug problem because of urine testing. If you were to get a positive one it would just stuff you up.
If I did have drugs in system I wouldn’t want the court to find out about it.
The support has been good and also learning about what the drug is actually doing to your body. This gave me a huge incentive to stop.
The program has been 90 per cent helpful at helping me deal with my drug problem.
All the groups they do in rehab I’ve done like eight times or something, and they never help me. The groups they do here [YDC]
they help me ‘cos a lot of the people on Drug Court are my friends, and you get close friendships within everyone, and you find friends that aren't using anymore and stuff.
For some the YDC program did not reduce drug use, but it did introduce new ways of thinking about drug use that could lead to reduction or abstinence in the future.
I found that the program didn’t reduce drug use. It heightened my
I found that the program didn’t reduce drug use. It heightened my