Illicit Drug Trends Globally

© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Human consumption of psychoactive substances goes back to prehistory and has always been a global phenomenon even if patterns of use and prevalence rates vary considerably by time and place. The concept of problematic drug use, and concerns about how this sh...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Vandam, L., Matias, J., McKetin, Rebecca, Meacham, M., Griffiths, P.
Format: Book Chapter
Published: 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/67818
_version_ 1848761666137751552
author Vandam, L.
Matias, J.
McKetin, Rebecca
Meacham, M.
Griffiths, P.
author_facet Vandam, L.
Matias, J.
McKetin, Rebecca
Meacham, M.
Griffiths, P.
author_sort Vandam, L.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Human consumption of psychoactive substances goes back to prehistory and has always been a global phenomenon even if patterns of use and prevalence rates vary considerably by time and place. The concept of problematic drug use, and concerns about how this should be defined and measured, is, however, a more recent development and until recently mostly associated with a restricted number of Western industrialized countries. This has changed and with increasing globalization drug problems are now both more relevant to, and more recognized in, low- and middle-income countries. Demographic factors also mean that the most significant public health implications of substance misuse are already probably impacting most on the developing rather than the developed world. This article reviews the methodological approaches that are commonly used to monitor the normally hidden behavior of drug use and associated risks and reviews the global and regional structures that exist for undertaking this task. An overview is also provided for the main types of illicit drugs and their places on the global scene, with links to data sources to allow the reader access to more up-to-date information as it becomes available.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T10:35:18Z
format Book Chapter
id curtin-20.500.11937-67818
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T10:35:18Z
publishDate 2016
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-678182018-05-18T08:05:33Z Illicit Drug Trends Globally Vandam, L. Matias, J. McKetin, Rebecca Meacham, M. Griffiths, P. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Human consumption of psychoactive substances goes back to prehistory and has always been a global phenomenon even if patterns of use and prevalence rates vary considerably by time and place. The concept of problematic drug use, and concerns about how this should be defined and measured, is, however, a more recent development and until recently mostly associated with a restricted number of Western industrialized countries. This has changed and with increasing globalization drug problems are now both more relevant to, and more recognized in, low- and middle-income countries. Demographic factors also mean that the most significant public health implications of substance misuse are already probably impacting most on the developing rather than the developed world. This article reviews the methodological approaches that are commonly used to monitor the normally hidden behavior of drug use and associated risks and reviews the global and regional structures that exist for undertaking this task. An overview is also provided for the main types of illicit drugs and their places on the global scene, with links to data sources to allow the reader access to more up-to-date information as it becomes available. 2016 Book Chapter http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/67818 10.1016/B978-0-12-803678-5.00223-X restricted
spellingShingle Vandam, L.
Matias, J.
McKetin, Rebecca
Meacham, M.
Griffiths, P.
Illicit Drug Trends Globally
title Illicit Drug Trends Globally
title_full Illicit Drug Trends Globally
title_fullStr Illicit Drug Trends Globally
title_full_unstemmed Illicit Drug Trends Globally
title_short Illicit Drug Trends Globally
title_sort illicit drug trends globally
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/67818