Pubdate: Thu, 29 Aug 2013
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Copyright: 2013 Associated Press
Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
Author: Maria Cheng, Associated Press

MARIJUANA TOP ILLEGAL DRUG USED WORLDWIDE

LONDON (AP) - Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug used 
worldwide, but addictions to popular painkillers like Vicodin, 
Oxycontin and codeine kill the most people, according to the 
first-ever global survey of illicit drug abuse.

In addition to cannabis and opioid painkillers, scientists analyzed 
abuse of cocaine and amphetamines in 2010, largely based on previous 
studies. Ecstasy and hallucinogens weren't included, because there 
weren't enough data. The researchers found that for all the drugs 
studied, men in their 20s had the highest rates of abuse. The 
worst-hit countries were Australia, Britain, Russia and the U.S. The 
study was published online Thursday in the journal Lancet.

But there were few concrete numbers to rely on, and researchers used 
modeling techniques to come up with their estimates.

"Even if it is not very solid data, we can say definitely that there 
are drug problems in most parts of the world," said Theo Vos, of the 
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of 
Washington, the study's senior author.

Vos said people tended to abuse drugs produced close to home: cocaine 
in North America, amphetamines and opioids in Asia and Australia. The 
lowest rates of drug abuse were in Asia and Africa. Of the estimated 
78,000 deaths in 2010 because of illegal drug use, more than half 
were because of painkiller addictions.

Vos said countries with harsh laws against drugs had worse death 
rates for addicts when compared with countries who relied on other 
policies to wean people off drugs, such as needle exchange programs 
and methadone clinics.

Other experts warned officials needed to be on their toes to address 
potential health problems from drug abuse.

"The illicit use of prescribed opiates in the U.S. has only happened 
in the last 10 years or so," said Michael Lysnkey, of the National 
Addiction Centre at King's College London, who co-authored an 
accompanying commentary. "It's possible in another 20 years, patterns 
will again change in ways we can't predict."
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