DRUG ABUSE IN LIJIANG YUNNAN

Objective: To survey the characteristics of drug abuse in Lijiang Yunnan Province. Methods: A survey was carried out among 50 drug abusers who took detoxification in Lijiang Compulsory Detoxification Institute with a self-reported questionnaire. The contents of the questionnaire included the demographic characteristics, varieties and quantities of drugs abused, the time and frequency of initial use, the administration routes, reasons of drug abuse and relapse. Results: They were all heroin abusers, including 49 males and 1 female. The average age was 26.6 a±s 5.4 a. Several nationalities were involved, including 10 Hans, 28 Naxi, 5 Yi and 3 other minorities and the rest was unknown. Most of them began to take drugs from March 1996 to May 2000. Besides heroin, dolantin (6.1%), methadone (4.1%), DHE (2.0%), diazepam (2.0%), triazolam (2.0%) were also abused. Snorting was the main route adopted at the beginning, and then 67.3% changed into injection (iv or im). 26.5% users didn't know that drug abuse was forbidden; 30% users were not aware of the harm drugs would do to health, and 60.0% didn't realize that HIV could be transmitted through drug abuse. Most of the drug abusers felt surrounding was the main factor causing relapse. Conclusion: The situation of drug abuse in Lijiang Yunnan was disclosed in this survey. As drug abuse problem is getting serious in this region, the government should take effective measures to strike drug crimes and give proper education to prevent the problem.