Drug-user treatment programs in a large metropolitan area.

This paper discusses the results of a comprehensive survey of one of the largest drug-user treatment systems in the United States--the system in Los Angeles County, California, which contains more than 300 programs, covers over 4,000 square miles, and serves clients from a notably heterogeneous population of almost nine million people. The survey reported on here was distinct from similar surveys in that it provided simultaneously comprehensive and in-depth descriptions of formal treatment programs in a defined local area. The authors believe that this survey is the first local drug-user treatment program survey of its scope and magnitude in the United States.