NCJ Number
200143
Date Published
August 2002
Length
182 pages
Annotation
This report presents proceedings from the sixth annual meeting of the Border Epidemiology Work Group (BEWG) held on July 31-August 1, 2002, in Tucson, AZ, by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). There BEWG representatives presented and compared recent patterns of drug abuse in the participating sister cities and areas on each side of the United States-Mexico border, as well as identify changes in drug use patterns over time.
Abstract
The Border Epidemiology Work Group (BEWG) was organized and co-sponsored in 1996 by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the Ministry of Health of Mexico to serve as a drug abuse surveillance network for areas along the United States-Mexico border. The members of the group consist of researchers who meet annually with the collaborative research efforts maintained between meetings. Surveillance data were presented from several Mexican cities and several areas within the United States. The report provides a summary of findings from the 2001 BEWG, an update on the Mexican border, epidemiology of drug abuse as reported from cities in Mexico, an evaluation of Mexico’s Epidemiologic Surveillance System of Addictions (SISVEA), and epidemiology of drug abuse as reported from areas in the United States. Findings showed that drug abuse problems in one area can quickly spread to other areas, and that drug abuse patterns are constantly changing. Key findings include: (1) heroin abuse as a widespread illicit drug problem along and on both sides of the United States-Mexico border; (2) distinctive patterns of cocaine/crack abuse along the border, with abuse being more prevalent in the eastern BEWG areas and least prevalent in western areas near the Pacific Ocean; (3) marijuana was reportedly widely available in BEWG areas with indicators in most border areas showing some level of problems with marijuana; (4) methamphetamine abuse continued to be concentrated primarily along the western part of the border and was increasing on the neighboring Mexican side and spreading eastward to Arizona; and (5) a continuance in few reliable indicators of inhalant abuse, primarily because inhalant use was most prevalent among persons under age 15, a population not represented in most data sources. The findings clearly indicate the need for ongoing surveillance of drug abuse problems along the United States-Mexico border. Appendix includes new participants in Mexico’s Epidemiologic Surveillance System of Addictions and a list of participants. Exhibits