Predictors of incident and recurrent participation in the sale or delivery of drugs for profit amongst young methamphetamine users in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand, 2005-2006

Individual drug use, drug use in social networks and recent incarceration were predictors of incident and recurrent involvement in the drug economy. These results suggest that interrupting drug use and/or minimizing the influence of drug-using networks may help prevent further involvement in the drug economy. The emergence of recent incarceration as a predictor for both models highlights the need for more appropriate drug rehabilitation programmes and demonstrates that continued criminalization of drug users may fuel Thailand's yaba epidemic.