[Epidemiological status of drug abuse in Mexico]

As a country that produces marijuana and opium, and as a route for cocaine traffic to the United States of America, Mexico is experiencing serious social and health problems related to the trafficking, use, and abuse of these drugs and other dependency-producing substances. In 1988 a national survey of addiction was undertaken in which information was collected on the prevalence of the use of alcohol, tobacco, inhalants, marijuana, cocaine, hallucinogens, opium, heroin, narcotic analgesics, sedatives, and tranquilizers. A sample was identified in the population between the ages of 12 and 65 living in urban areas of more than 2,500 inhabitants, which account for approximately 65% of the country's total population. This sample consisted of 12,557 persons. According to the results of the survey, 51% of the population between 18 and 65 years of age use alcoholic beverages and 24.7% of the entire study population are active smokers. In addition, 43% had used one or more drugs other than tobacco or alcohol at some time. Prevalence of marijuana use was 2.6%, while the rates for tranquilizers, inhalants, and amphetamines were identical (0.7%). For cocaine the rate was 0.3%, and for heroin, 0.1%.