“Tamo Junto”: Brief intervention in educative measure by use of drugs

Abstract

According to the current legislation, people who purchase, carry or keep illicit drugs may be classified as drug dealers or users, depending on the situation and criminal record. In partnership with the Special Court, the Psychology course of a city in the state of Minas Gerais developed an alternative for complying with socio-educational measures due to drug abuse, based on the methodology of Brief Intervention for such issue, applied to the criminal context. The intervention aimed to prevent drug use and recidivism problems. This study presents preliminary data of three semesters of implementation of this intervention, namely: program adherence, attended persons’ profile, most used drugs and considerations of the individuals about the occurrence. Fifty-three people were seen, predominantly men (96.2%) between 18 and 44 years old (average= 24.8). Thirty-four persons concluded the consultations, while seven did not and the other 12 did not join the program. The tests used were AUDIT and ASSIST. The most consumed drugs were marijuana (82.9%), cocaine (1 2.2%) and crack (4.9%). The study shows the importance of developing new conciliatory practices between the penal and the technical academic system to avoid the aggravation of drug problems, reduce punitive practices and increase preventive intervention alternatives.