On substance abuse in Kuwait (1992-1997) - Evidence from toxicological screening of patients

Purpose: To assess preference for different psychoactive substances and tim e trends in Kuwait. Methods: Analysis of urine and blood samples of specime ns sent by attending physicians to the only public health reference laborat ory for toxicological screening in the country. Results: A total of 28,548 tests were performed on 3781 samples. Cannabinoids were positive in 40% of the tested samples, opiates in 24%, ethanol in 10%, and amphetamines in 5%. Elevated concentrations of methadone, cocaine, and phencyclidine did not e xceed 0.1%. About 40% of samples was positive for benzodiazepines, but thei r therapeutic use obscures the informativeness of this finding. There was a significant increase in the proportion of positive results for ethanol, am phetamines, and benzodiazepines. Implications: It is high time to implement a modem and comprehensive preventive and control program. The tendency to blame the Iraqi invasion for drug addiction has hampered efforts to recogni se and address the problem in its entirety. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.