Introduction and Aims. Southeast and East Asia has become a global hub for methamphetamine production and trafficking over the past decade. This paper describes the rise of methamphetamine supply and ...to what extent use of the drug is occurring in the region. Method and Design. The current review uses data collected through the Drug Abuse Information Network for Asia and the Pacific (DAINAP) and other available sources to analyse retrospectively methamphetamine trends within Southeast and East Asia. Results. Southeast and East Asia has experienced a methamphetamine epidemic in the past decade which began around 1997 and peaked in 2000 - 2001. While the situation has since stabilised in many countries, methamphetamine trafficking and use are still increasing in parts of the Mekong region and there is evidence of large-scale manufacture in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Methamphetamine is typically smoked or ingested, but injection of the drug is apparent. Conclusion. While the peak of the methamphetamine epidemic has passed in parts of Southeast and East Asia, attention is needed to minimise the potential consequences of spreading methamphetamine production, trafficking and use in the Mekong region and in the peninsular and archipelago of Southeast Asia. McKetin R, Kozel N, Douglas J, Ali R, Vicknasingam B, Lund J, Li J-H. The rise of methamphetamine in Southeast and East Asia. Drug Alcohol Rev 2008;27:220-228
ABSTRACT
Aims To (1) describe the South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (SACENDU), (2) describe trends and associated consequences of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use in South ...Africa for January 1997 to December 1999 and (3) outline selected policy implications identified by SACENDU participants.
Methods A descriptive epidemiological study of AOD indicators based on data gathered from multiple sources, including specialist treatment centres, trauma units and quantitative studies of target groups such as school students and arrestees. Networks were established in five sentinel sites to facilitate the collection, interpretation and dissemination of data.
Results Over time alcohol has been the most frequently reported primary substance of abuse across sites. Trauma and psychiatric data highlight the burden associated with alcohol abuse. Cannabis and Mandrax (methaqualone), alone or in combination, are the most frequently reported illicit drugs of abuse, generally comprising the largest proportions of drug‐related arrests, drug‐related psychiatric diagnoses and drug‐positive trauma patients. From 1997 to 1999, a significant increase in indicators for cocaine/crack and heroin occurred in two sites. Ecstasy (MDMA) use, alone or in combination with other substances, is reported among young people.
Conclusions A broad range of globally abused substances is present in South Africa and the use and burden of illicit substances appears to be increasing. This points to the importance of ongoing monitoring of AOD trends. Through regular, systematic data collection the SACENDU project has made available more evidence‐based information to direct AOD abuse policy and practice and has had an impact on research agendas.
"Drug abuse" provides many unique challenges to the research community. Some of these involve fundamental epidemiologic issues, such as measuring the extent of the problem, identifying and assessing ...changes in patterns and trends, detecting emerging "drugs of abuse", characterizing vulnerable populations and determining health and social consequences. A number of research methods are employed to address these issues. This paper describes one of these-a model in which ongoing surveillance of "drug abuse" is maintained through a network of community-based researchers, local officials, academics, and other interested and qualified members of the community. Timely, accurate, and cost-effective data can be generated through systematic collection and analysis of indirect indicators of "drug abuse" that are often routinely produced by a variety of community sources. This information, in turn, can be used to make informed public health policy decisions. The community-based network model has been implemented at the city, state, national, regional, and international levels, and a case is made that this type of program could be useful, as well, in understanding the dynamics of "drug abuse" in rural areas of the country. Translations are provided in the International Abstracts Section of this issue.
Epidemiology of Drug Abuse: An Overview Kozel, Nicholas J.; Adams, Edgar H.
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
11/1986, Volume:
234, Issue:
4779
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Issues regarding the use of epidemiology in drug abuse research are discussed and systems for monitoring national trends and identifying risk factors are described. Data indicate a general decline in ...marijuana use among youth, a cohort aging effect among heroin and marijuana users, and increased prevalence and health consequences associated with cocaine use.
Gave a questionnaire to 28 ex-addict and 20 nonaddict counselors, and to 24 administrators and 30 clients, to determine the degree of responsibility each of the 1st 2 groups felt for performing 42 ...tasks related to counseling addicts, and, for all, to determine the ideal degree of counselor responsibility. Results show that both groups of counselors had common views and sought to have their roles expanded to include work in the community; administrators differed from all groups in viewing counseling as having significantly less importance in the community.
