Drug Abuse Research:
Science for Policy and Practice
Summary of PresentationsModerator: Mr. Daniel Schecter
Assistant Deputy Director/Acting Deputy Director for Demand Reduction
Office of National Drug Control Policy, USA
Dr. Marķa Elena Medina-Mora
Director, Social and Epidemiological Research,
Mexican Institute of Psychiatry,
Ministry of Health, Mexico
Dr. Medina-Mora's presentation, entitled "Drug Use in Mexico -- Lessons from the Epidemiological and Psychosocial Study," described the use and abuse of, as well as dependence on, mind-altering drugs in Mexico. It was based on epidemiological studies carried out during the last 20 years by various Mexican research institutions.
As Dr. Medina-Mora noted, while drug abuse is a problem in most countries, local social and cultural differences exist. The studies she discussed used the same methodology used internationally, which included general public surveys, student surveys, surveys of other populations, surveys of various information systems. She explained however, that other methods have also been developed to approach difficult groups and to discover the environments in which drug use occurs.
The increase in substance abuse in Mexico is largely due to cocaine use.
According to Dr. Medina-Mora, the available data indicate that the spectrum of drug abuse and dependency in Mexico is changing in the following ways: (1) increased use of cocaine, (2) the appearance of designer drugs, (3) increased risk of heroin use by some groups, (4) increased alcohol abuse among adolescents, and (5) increased drug use by women in rural areas. The increase in substance abuse in Mexico is largely due to cocaine use. She explained that in Mexico City cocaine use among abusers of drugs who were followed had increased from 4 percent in 1986 to 39 percent in 1996. She noted that Mexico's Youth Integration Centers, which treat youthful abusers, found a corresponding increase in cocaine abusers, from 12 percent in 1990 to 46 percent in 1996. She also pointed out that, according to data from the National Addictive Disease Control Monitoring System, in 1991, 6 percent of those who abused cocaine had begun with it; however, by 1997 this figure had increased to 16 percent.
Dr. Medina-Mora also warned of the dangers of new drugs such as Refractyl Ofteno. This intoxicating drug first appeared in Mexico City in 1995, she noted. Other drugs used for medical treatments, such as Flunitareparm, are also increasingly being abused: the number of times known drug users reported using this drug rose from 16 reported cases in 1988 to 105 cases in 1994. Further, drugs such as amphetamines are also appearing on the Mexican market.
In closing, Dr. Medina-Mora noted that studies carried out among adolescents have suggested that the risk of drug use rises when: teenagers believe their friends would approve or be indifferent to their using drugs; they do not fully understand the risks; they have emotional problems manifested by depression and suicidal thoughts; they have behavioral problems (e.g., using weapons to rob or selling drugs).
