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WIP- Drug use in Pakistan (2013)

December 09, 2020 - 4 min read

I was reading the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report on Drug Use in Pakistan (2013) and wanted to extract some figures and share those. All the figures below have been taken from the afore mentioned report

Key findings

  • Population age range: 15-64 years

    • Drug use more common among those aged 25-39 than 15-24

  • Interviews of

    • 4533 high-risk drug users: Regular opioids and cannabis users
    • 58 drug treatment center representatives
    • 1198 key informants: Who regularly interacted with drug users as well as had ideas of trends in drug usage
    • 51453 participants randomly selected from the general population

  • Highly different across genders

    • Very high levels of use among men

    • Generally low levels of use among women

      • Considerable levels of misuse of prescription opioids, tranquilizers, and sedatives by women
      • Still likely an underestimate
    • Possibly higher prevalence due to under-reporting in the general population
  • Dependence and severity of dependence were high

  • 6.7 million people (~ 6 % of the population) used any controlled substance in the last year

    • This includes the use of misuse of prescription medicines
    • Of these, 4.25 million are considered drug-dependent

    • Cannabis the most prevalent drug, with 4 million people, or 3.6 % of the population reported using it

      • Cannabis use highest among 30-34 year olds

    • Multiple drug-use is common

      • 1 in 5 people reported using multiple substances within the last year

    • Opiate use

      • Estimated 860,000 regular Heroin users (0.8 % of the population)

        • Heroin use highest among 35-39 year olds
      • Estimated 320,000 Opium users (0.3 % of the population)
      • Combined 1.06 million people use opiates (1.0 % of the population)

      • $3/4 ^{th}$ of regular opiate users reported a strong desire for treatment. However, hindrances include

        • Lack of access
        • Inability to afford of treatment
    • Around 19,000 people reported using Methamphetamine (Meth)

    • Estimated 430,000 people inject drugs (0.4 % of the population)

      • 73 % reported sharing syringes - Reason: Lack of access to sterile injecting equipment
    • Around 1.5 million people reported misuse of prescription opioids in the past year (1.5 % of the population)

Introduction

  • Some demographic figures from 2013

    • Nearly half the population lived below the poverty line
    • A quarter of the population living below USD 1.25 per day

    • Literacy rate

      • Overall 58 %
      • 46 % in women
    • Mean duration of schooling in a formal education setting: 4.9 years

  • Factors contributing to substance use

    • Unemployment
    • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
    • Availability of both licit and illicit substances

    • Regulatory factors

      • Irregularities around import of precursor chemicals (like ephedrine) to amphetamine like substances
      • Proximity to Afghanistan where opium and cannabis are cultivated

      • Large number of pharmacies and medical stores remain unregulated

        • They often even sell controlled substances without a prescription

  • In 2009, of the substances trafficked through Pakistan (from Afghanistan):

    • 160 of the 350 to 400 tons of opium were consumed in Pakistan
    • 20 of the 160 tons of heroin were consumed in Pakistan
  • Pakistan has the 4th highest annual legitimate requirement for ephedrine
  • Regarding the pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan, ~400 manufacturers produce nearly three-quarters of the country’s domestic medicine

  • Institutional framework in Pakistan

    1. Narcotics Control Division under the Ministry of Interior
    2. Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF)
    3. Other law enforcement agencies
    4. Provincial health departments
    5. Provincial social welfare departments
    6. Provincial education departments

    7. Provincial prisons

      • In 2012, 85,000 people were incarcerated across 97 prisons in Pakistan

      • Of these, 11,137 were convicted for drug-related offences

        • Users: 3630
        • Traffickers: 7507
      • Number of drug users in prison is significantly higher than what the above official estimate suggests, though
    8. National Drug Regulatory Authority
    9. Provincial Drug Laws/Acts
    10. Inter-agency Task Force

Survey results

TBC

Reference