Drug abuse in Pakistan - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

DRUG ABUSE IN PAKISTAN
Table 14.
Means of f<strong>in</strong>ancial support <strong>in</strong> the 12 weeks before <strong>in</strong>terview
(percentage)
Category Treatment Street Prison All
Wages/salary 16 7 11 12
Casual work 14 27 27 22
Family 11 23 23 18
Begg<strong>in</strong>g 5 36 11 16
Sell<strong>in</strong>g drugs 6 14 20 13
Self employment 21 5 9 12
Pick pocket<strong>in</strong>g/theft 7 10 16 11
Other 10 8 5 8
Note: Multi-response question—reflects period before enter<strong>in</strong>g treatment or prison for these groups.
samples with around 18% of both report<strong>in</strong>g contact
<strong>in</strong> the 12 month prior to <strong>in</strong>terview (or prior to enter<strong>in</strong>g
prison <strong>in</strong> the case of the prison sample). It
should be noted that the cities for this study where
the <strong>in</strong>terview<strong>in</strong>g took place have disproportionately
more treatment facilities than other areas of <strong>Pakistan</strong>.
As such, treatment contact figures are likely to be
lower elsewhere. Lifetime contact with treatment
services (of any sort) was even greater. Forty-four
per-cent of respondents <strong>in</strong>terviewed <strong>in</strong> a prison or
street sett<strong>in</strong>g reported receiv<strong>in</strong>g treatment for a drug
problem at some stage <strong>in</strong> their life, be<strong>in</strong>g just over
half (52%) of those <strong>in</strong>terviewed on the streets and
just over a third (37%) of prison respondents report<strong>in</strong>g
lifetime contact with treatment services.
The fact that many respondents had previously had
some contact with treatment facilities does not necessarily
imply that they had received <strong>in</strong>tensive or
susta<strong>in</strong>ed therapy. Contact with treatment facilities
was often relatively brief. Respondents were asked
about their most recent treatment contact (exclud<strong>in</strong>g
the <strong>in</strong>terview <strong>in</strong>dex treatment for the treatment
sample). On average the contact lasted for 28 days,
although there is considerable variation <strong>in</strong> range of
the period of contact reported. A few <strong>in</strong>dividuals
reported extended periods of therapeutic contact
(maximum nearly one year), but for nearly half (49%)
of the sample, the most recent treatment episode
lasted 10 days or less. This f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g was broadly consistent
with the length of time subjects <strong>in</strong> the treatment
sample had been attend<strong>in</strong>g the current treatment
episode at the time of <strong>in</strong>terview. The mean
length of time subjects had been attend<strong>in</strong>g was
21 days (range 1 to 210); but aga<strong>in</strong> there was considerable
variation, with two-thirds (66%) of subjects
at the time of <strong>in</strong>terview report<strong>in</strong>g hav<strong>in</strong>g spent
10 days or less <strong>in</strong> this current episode of treatment.
A supplementary multi-response question asked all
respondents for which drug(s) they had ever been
treated (for a problem with that drug). Of those who
had been treated, the vast majority (96%) reported
that they had been treated for a hero<strong>in</strong> problem,
with far lower numbers report<strong>in</strong>g treatment for the
<strong>abuse</strong> of opium (7%), hashish (5%), synthetic opiates
(5%), morph<strong>in</strong>e (3%), cough syrups (3%), and
tranquillizers (3%). No subject ever reported hav<strong>in</strong>g
been treated for a problem related to the use of
amphetam<strong>in</strong>e or barbiturate problems.
When respondents <strong>in</strong> the treatment sample were
asked for which drug they were currently receiv<strong>in</strong>g
treatment, aga<strong>in</strong> the data are consistent with the
f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs from the sample as a whole. On a multiresponse
question, 94% of current attendees were
receiv<strong>in</strong>g help for problems related to their use of
hero<strong>in</strong>, 6% for synthetic opiates, 4% hashish, 4% opium
and 1% for morph<strong>in</strong>e, tranquillizers and alcohol. In
the treatment sample, 20% of subjects had <strong>in</strong>jected
a drug <strong>in</strong> the month before enter<strong>in</strong>g treatment.
First treatment
The data are remarkably constant across the sample
<strong>in</strong> respect of the mean age of first treatment
attendance, which is 26 years of age for both the
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