Table 2 Main characteristics of interviewed PMWUD
Community | Age | Gender | Country of origin | Substance use | Legal status | Living situation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amsterdam (n = 22) | ||||||
Intra-European PMWUD (n = 12) | 24–53 y/o | 11 cisgender male, 1 transgender female | Poland (n = 3), Slovakia (n = 2), Hungary (n = 2), Italy, Lithuania, Austria and Bulgaria (n = 1/country) | Crack cocaine (n = 1) + heroin through injection (n = 11), methadone (n = 7) majority though OAT, cannabis (n = 10) | Mostly European ID’s | Homeless with temporary homeless shelters (in winter) |
Arabic-speaking PMWUD belonging to the LGBTQIA + community and involved in chemsex (n = 5) | 29–32 y/o | 4 cisgender male, 1 transgender | Syria (n = 4) and Lebanon (n = 1) | 3-MMC (n = 4, snorting), cocaine (n = 3, snorting) and MDMA (n = 3, pills) | Recognized refugees (residence permit) | Student or social housing |
Spanish-speaking PMWUD (n = 5) | 33–36 y/o | 4 cisgender male | Colombia (n = 2), Peru (n = 1) and Spain (n = 2) | Smoke or snort (crack) cocaine (n = 3), heroin injection (n = 2), + crystal meth (n = 1), + cannabis (n = 2) | European ID’s | Homeless |
Athens (n = 20) | ||||||
Persons from Maghreb Arabic origin who use drugs (n = 6) | 25–40 y/o | 6 cisgender male | Morocco (n = 3), Algeria (n = 2) and Tunesia (n = 1) | Cocaine (n = 3) + heroin (n = 2), injectable methamphetamine (‘sisa’) (n = 2), depressants (n = 3) | Residence permit (n = 2), No official residence permits (n = 4) | Homeless |
Persons from African origin who use drugs (n = 4) | 33–56 y/o | 4 cisgender male | Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan and Congo (n = 1/country) | Heroin (n = 3), (crack) cocaine (n = 2), + cannabis (n = 1), + ’sisa’ (n = 1) | Residence permit (n = 2), No official residence permit (n = 2) | ‘Guesthouse’ (n = 3)Homeless (n = 1) |
PMWUD residing in the open drug scenes (n = 10) | 22–58 y/o | 10 cisgender male | Iraq (n = 2), Iran (n = 2), Bangladesh (n = 2), Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saoudi-Arabia (n = 1/country) | ‘sisa’ (n = 10) + heroin (n = 8), + flunitrazepam (n = 4), depressants (n = 4, so-called ‘green pills’) | Asylum status (n = 6) with permanent (n = 2), temporary (n = 2) or unspecified (n = 2) residence permit, No official residence permit (n = 4) | Homeless |
Berlin (n = 25) | ||||||
Russian-speaking PMWUD (n = 8) | 32–50 y/o | 5 cisgender male, 3 cisgender female | Latvia (n = 3), Ukraine (n = 2), Moldawia, Lithuania, Belarus (n = 1/country) | Methadone, polamidon or burpenorphine through OAT (n = 7), + heroin (n = 1), + injected polamidon (n = 1), pregabalin (Lyrica) (n = 5), alcohol (n = 4), cocaine (injected) (n = 3) or crack cocaine (smoked, n = 1), and cannabis (n = 3) | European ID’s (n = 3), No residence permit (n = 2), Permanent (n = 1) or temporary (n = 1) residence permit, Registration certificate (n = 1) | Majority homeless, n = 2 used temporary homeless shelters (in winter) |
PMWUD from North Africa (n = 10) | 21–49 y/o | 10 cisgender male | Morocco (n = 5), Algeria (n = 3), and Sudan (n = 2) | (Crack) cocaine, mostly snorted, smoked and sniffed, alcohol (n = 7), cannabis (n = 6) | Majority has no official residence permits (n = 8) | Homeless with temporary homeless shelters (in winter) or relying on friends |
PMWUD from West-African origin (n = 7) | 21–48 y/o | 7 cisgender male | Republic of Guinea (n = 2), Sierra Leone, Niger, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Angola (n = 1/country) | (Crack) cocaine (mostly smoked) (n = 6), cannabis (n = 5), alcohol (n = 3) | Majority has no official residence permits (n = 5) | Homeless with temporary homeless shelters (in winter) |
Paris (n = 32) | ||||||
PMWUD from Georgian origin (n = 16) | 25–62 y/o | 15 cisgender male, 1 cisgender female | Georgia | Subutex® or buprenorphine, methadone through OAT (n = 15), + heroin (n = 4), + injecting methadone (n = 2), cocaine (n = 9), prescribed depressants (n = 7), alcohol (n = 9) | Majority has no official residence permits (n = 14), 2 had an asylum status | Majority lives in housing projects, 3 are homeless |
Non-Georgian Russian-speaking PMWUD (n = 10) | 25–47 y/o | 6 cisgender male, 4 cisgender female | Lithuania (n = 3), Latvia (n = 2), Chechenia (n = 2), Belarus, Ukraine, Moldavia (n = 1/country) | Methadone (n = 9) the majority through OAT, + heroin (n = 2), + morphine (n = 1), (prescribed) depressants (n = 6) | No official residence permits (n = 5), European ID’s (n = 5) | Majority lives in (temporary) housing programs, social housing or with friends, 1 is homeless |
Persons from Somalian origin who use drugs (n = 6) | 25–35 y/o | 6 cisgender male | Somalia | Crack cocaine (n = 4), cannabis (n = 4), ‘tablets’ (n = 2), depressants (n = 2) methadone (n = 1), alcohol (n = 1) | Majority has temporary residence documents (n = 4) | Homeless with temporary shelter (in winter) |