Situación epidemiológica del abuso de drogas en México

Abstract

As a country that produces marijuana and opium, and as a route for cocaine traffic to te United States of America, Mexico is experiencing serious social and health problems related to the trafficking, use and abuse of these drugs, and other dependency-producing substances. In 1988 a national survey of addiction was undertaken in which information was collected on the prevalence of the use of alcohol, tobacco, inhalants, marijuana, cocaine, hallucinogens, opium, heroin, narcotic analgesics, sedatives and traquilizers. A sample was identified in the population between the ages of 12 and 65 living in urban areas of more than 2,500 inhabitants, which account for approximately 65 percent of the country's total population. This sample consisted of 12,557 persons, according to the results of the survey, 51 percent of the population between 18 and 65 years of age use alcoholic beverage and 24.7 percent of the entire study population are active smokers. In addition, 43 percent had use one or more drugs other than tobacco or alcohol at some time. Prevelence of marijuana use was 2.6 percent, while the rates for tranquilizers, inhalants, and amphetamines were identical (0.7 percent). For cocaine the rate was 0.3 percent, and for heroin 0.1 percent