NCJ Number
202724
Date Published
July 2003
Length
40 pages
Annotation
This last in a series of five reports on assessments of specific drug problems and at-risk groups within Afghan communities presents a systematic assessment of the extent, nature, and patterns of problem drug use in Kabul, Afghanistan, including the types of social, economic, and health-related problems for individuals, families, and communities that have resulted from such use.
Abstract
The assessment encompasses all psychoactive substances, both licit and illicit. Both primary and secondary data were collected for this assessment in early 2003. Researchers visited police stations and hospitals in various locations in Kabul, collected any statistics they kept on drug use, and interviewed doctors and police regarding their perceptions of the nature of the drug problem in their area of Kabul. Trained interviewers conducted comprehensive interviews with 100 key informants and 200 drug users in Kabul city. Hashish was reported as being most commonly used, followed by opium, heroin, alcohol, pharmaceutical drugs, and other drugs. One chapter of this report provides data on the nature and patterns of the various types of drugs used in Kabul as reported by key informants and drug users. Information on drug users' own patterns of drug consumption is followed by information from the key informants and all the drug users regarding their estimates and profiles of the users of the particular drug. The lowest estimated numbers of drug users in Kabul as reported by both key informants and drug users were 23,995 hashish users; 14,298 users of pharmaceutical drugs such as tranquillizers and painkillers; 10,774 opium users; 7,008 heroin users; and 6,568 alcohol users. The 200 drug users interviewed reported a wide range of problems related to their own drug use, regardless of the type of drug used. Many drug users linked their current state of poverty with their drug consumption. Most drug users reported social problems related to their drug use, primarily arguments, fights, and disintegrating relationships with family members, particularly spouses. 6 tables and appended interview checklist