NCJ Number
221468
Date Published
2007
Length
176 pages
Annotation
This report is the fourth in a series of annual publications that present current patterns and trends in the use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and other drugs of abuse in East Asia and the Pacific compiled from information submitted to the Drug Abuse Information Network for Asia and the Pacific.
Abstract
The ATS drugs, methamphetamine in pill and crystal form, and ecstasy, along with opiates (heroin and opium), and cannabis continue to be the dominant drugs of abuse in the region of East Asia and the Pacific. Of the 13 countries providing data, all reported abuse of methamphetamine, and 10 reported the abuse of ecstasy. All of the countries, with the exception of Malaysia, cited ATS as one of the top three drugs of abuse, with six (Brunei, Cambodia, Japan, Lao PDR, Philippines, and Thailand) citing methamphetamine as the leading drug of abuse. All of the countries--with the exception of Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore--reported that the trend in abuse of methamphetamine and/or ecstasy was on the increase in 2006 or for the most recent year reported; and eight (Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam) cited an increase in each year during the most recent 3-year period. Seven of the 13 countries reported heroin as 1 of the top 3 drugs of abuse, with 4 (China, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam) identifying it as the leading drug problem. Three countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam) cited an increase in the abuse trend each year between 2004 and 2006. Eleven countries cited cannabis as a concern. Other drugs that have had a long-term presence in the region are benzodiazepines. In addition, inhalants and solvents continue to pose a difficult problem. More recent drugs of concern include the narcotic analgesic buprenophine. 112 tables, 69 figures and 57 references