Consumption of dependence-producing substances in Colombia

A survey examining the use of six dependence-producing substances (alcohol, tobacco, tranquilizers, marijuana, coca paste or "basuca," and cocaine) was conducted in Colombia in 1987. The survey population consisted of 2,800 urban residents in four cities (Barranquilla, Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín) between the ages of 12 and 64. The results indicated that substantially more men than women were using all the substances involved except tranquilizers, that high proportions of study subjects used alcohol and tobacco, that 8.1% of the study subjects could be considered alcoholics, and that another 7.3% were at risk of becoming alcoholics. User prevalences of the three illegal substances (marijuana, basuca, and cocaine) were much lower, and the prevalence of marijuana users exceeded that of the other two drugs combined. However, 1% of the male study subjects reported using basuca within the past year. The high prevalence of basuca use has important public health implications, because the drug typically does great harm to its users within a short period of time.