Drugs on a medical campus. II. Drug use among faculty members

One hundred out of a total of 207 members of the faculty of Medical College, Patiala, selected by a process of random sampling were covered in the present survey. They were divided into two groups--the senior consultants and the junior doctors. The lifetime prevalence rate for drug use was 78.9 per cent, and the commonest drugs used were alcohol and tranquilizers, followed by sedatives, stimulants, tobacco and cannabis. However, current use as shown by the 30-day prevalence rate showed that only three drugs--alcohol, tobacco and tranquilizers--are commonly used. More of the senior doctors were single-drug users (44 per cent) compared to only 20 per cent among the junior doctors, who experimented with a larger variety of drugs and took them more frequently than the seniors. Enquiry into the reasons for drug use revealed further differences between the two groups; a majority of the senior physicians stated that they took drugs to help them obtain relief from their tensions, whereas among the younger group a considerable number took them for thrills or out of curiosity. A majority of the physicians felt they would continue to use alcohol, tobacco and tranquilizers in the future, whereas they would not take cannabis, opium or narcotics.