This paper describes the profile of 95 crack cocaine users attending three community mental health services (CAPS) in Greater Metropolitan Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, from August 2009 to March 2010. The instruments employed were questionnaires developed by the team, the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20), and inventories of criteria for dependence and abuse (SAMHSA). The data depict a group of users consisting predominantly of young males with elementary schooling, without regular employment but reporting individual income, none of whom living on the streets. They were currently addicted, with heavy daily use of crack for more than two years, and with high SRQ-20 score. This group's characteristics showed that the community mental health services are attended by crack users that suffer losses resulting from their addiction, but also some possible selection process in the supply of these health services (based mainly income, schooling, or primary support network).
Crack Cocaine; Drug Users; Mental Health Services
