Epidemiology of Illicit Drug Use and Policy Evaluation

摘要

Among recent trends in drug consumption is the increasing proportion of polydrug use. Traditional epidemiological indicators used to monitor and evaluate drug policies are mostly based on the prevalence of users of "main" substances and the related harm measures are based on single substance analysis. New comprehensive indicators are thus needed to overcome the limits of the presently used methods for drug policy monitoring and evaluation. The aim of this Hot Topic issue is to show how several methodological approaches can be developed, combined and efficiently used to mirror the present situation, forecast near future trends and provide new indicators for policy makers.Recently, the results obtained within the framework of the EU project "JUST/2010/DPIP/AG/l410: New methodological tools for policy and programme evaluation" were presented at the final workshop, held at the EMCDDA in February 2013. In this issue, some contributions from that project and further contributions from other research groups working on illicit drug use issues in Europe, U.S.A. and Australia are included, covering several aspects of the subject: