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Fumando La Piedra: Emerging Patterns of Crack Use Among Latino Immigrant Day Laborers in New Orleans

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Abstract

The devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina have contributed to a dynamic demographic shift in the Latino composition of New Orleans. This article focuses on a particularly deleterious pattern of crack cocaine smoking associated with numerous social and health consequences. Utilizing a rapid assessment methodology, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 52 Latino immigrant day laborers in New Orleans. Findings reveal that the presence of a flourishing drug market has facilitated and maintained patterns of crack use including initiation and periods of daily use. Moreover, feelings of isolation and constant exposure to victimization due to day laborers’ marginal status are described as contributing to this use. This qualitative analysis reveals how social processes and contextual factors contribute to crack use among Latino day laborers in a post-disaster context. This study has important public health implications in the spread of HIV and other blood borne pathogens.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant 3 R01 DA021852-03; the NIDA had no further role in study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Drug and Social Policy Research, Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston, 110HA Social Work Building, Houston, TX, 77204-4013, USA

    Avelardo Valdez & Charles Kaplan

  2. Center for Drug and Social Policy Research & Department of Sociology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Alice Cepeda

  3. School of Social Work, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Nalini Junko Negi

Authors
  1. Avelardo Valdez
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  2. Alice Cepeda
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  3. Nalini Junko Negi
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  4. Charles Kaplan
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Correspondence to Avelardo Valdez.

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Valdez, A., Cepeda, A., Negi, N.J. et al. Fumando La Piedra: Emerging Patterns of Crack Use Among Latino Immigrant Day Laborers in New Orleans. J Immigrant Minority Health 12, 737–742 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-009-9300-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-009-9300-5

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