Vol. 25, No. 3, Summer 2003 28 PRACTICING ANTHROPOLOGY By Michael Duke, Wei Teng, Janie Simmons, and Merrill Singer T he lives of Puerto Rican street drug users living on the US mainland are structured by addiction and violence. For some, drugs act as a palliative against the trauma of being exposed to extreme physical or emotional harm. For others, the effects of structural op- pression, coupled with the cruel logic of addiction, situates violence just below the surface of lived experience (Singer 1996). This paper will explore the rela- tionship between exposure to violence and drug using behaviors, as well as the degree to which violence becomes a byproduct of those behaviors. Drawing from life history interviews and survey data of drug users in Hartford, Connect- icut, we will discuss the ways in which addiction, violent upbringings, and the ruthlessness of narco-capitalism—each operating within the context of Puerto Ricans’ status as a colonized people vis a vis the USA—create an atmosphere in which violence becomes a near inevitable part of everyday life. We will also briefy address the complex ethical issues involved in studying violence. The data are derived from the Inter- twined Epidemics among Puerto Rican Drug Users study, a National Institute of Drug Abuse-funded project imple- mented by the Hispanic Health Council in collaboration with the Institute for Community Research between 1996 and 1999. The sample was composed of 100 Puerto Rican street drug users (heroin or cocaine) and their social networks (most of whom were also of Puerto Rican descent), yielding a total of 224 participants. Over 3 of the sample (n=172) were male, 77 percent were unemployed and 46 percent considered themselves homeless at baseline. The survey consisted of a battery of questions regarding drug use and STRUCTURAL AND INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE AMONG PUERTO RICAN DRUG USERS AIDS risk patterns, criminal activity, subsistence strategies, history of direct or indirect exposure to violence (either as perpetrator or victim), and informa- tion concerning respondents’ social networks. We also asked participants a variety of questions to measure the degree to which they suffer from symp- toms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The baseline survey included questions about lifelong history of drug use and exposure to violence, while the follow up surveys (administered at 4, 8, and 12 months) asked about these issues during the preceding 4 months. In addition, multi-session life history and other qualitative, open-ended interview- ing methodologies captured the texture of participants' lives, and yielded a rich body of data regarding the relationship between violence and substance misuse. Exposure to Violence Many participants grew up in house- holds where exposure to violence was commonplace. For example, 37 percent (n=82) were the victims of emotional violence (e.g., regular insults, yelling) and 29 percent (n=64) suffered from physical violence (e.g., beaten, slapped, struck with objects) at least once per week at the hands of family members. Notably, of those who had suffered from violence in the home (n=162), 45 percent reported that those experiences were a contributing factor in experi- menting with heroin and/or cocaine. As children, participants’ exposure to violence was not limited to the home. For example, 38 percent grew up see- ing robberies or assaults a few times per month or more in the community. Likewise, 32 percent reported witness- ing police beatings, 44 percent observed gang violence, and a full 84 percent witnessed fghts in the street a few times per month or more, with nearly half (47 percent) reporting having witnessed the latter almost every day as a youth. Signifcantly, almost 1/3 (29 percent) witnessed someone being murdered at least once when they were children. Violence and Self-Medication I'm having this dialogue with you here right now, narrating this his- tory to another person, I will take on an attitude (entraría en actitud) because of the rage (coraje) I have inside. Understand? Because many people have told me that I shouldn't talk about the past because I will go out and get into an attitude that's out of control. I think that I can take on the whole world and stuff. And it isn't like that. Because I have suffered so much in my life that I can tell you sincerely, right now I am, the way I see myself…it’s only for revenge (project recording) One of the authors had been inter- viewing Charlie (pseudonym) over the Michael Duke AIDS risk patterns, criminal activity, subsistence strategies, history of direct or indirect exposure to violence (either as perpetrator or victim), and informa- tion concerning respondents’ social networks. We also asked participants a variety of questions to measure the degree to which they suffer from symp- toms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The baseline survey included questions about lifelong history of drug use and exposure to violence, while the follow up surveys (administered at 4, 8, and 12 months) asked about these issues during the preceding 4 months. In addition, multi-session life history and other qualitative, open-ended interview- ing methodologies captured the texture of participants' lives, and yielded a rich body of data regarding the relationship between violence and substance misuse. Exposure to Violence Many participants grew up in house- holds where exposure to violence was commonplace. For example, 37 percent (n=82) were the victims of emotional violence (e.g., regular insults, yelling) and 29 percent (n=64) suffered from physical violence (e.g., beaten, slapped, struck with objects) at least once per week at the hands of family members. Notably, of those who had suffered from violence in the home (n=162), 45 percent reported that those experiences were a contributing factor in experi- menting with heroin and/or cocaine. As children, participants’ exposure to violence was not limited to the home. For example, 38 percent grew up see- ing robberies or assaults a few times per month or more in the community. Likewise, 32 percent reported witness- ing police beatings, 44 percent observed gang violence, and a full 84 percent witnessed fghts in the street a few times per month or more, with nearly half (47 percent) reporting having witnessed