Drug abuse in persons with mental retardation: a review

The literature on drug abuse by people with mental retardation, a real, but largely ignored problem, was reviewed. Topics addressed were (a) the prevalence of drug use, (b) the drug-related problems characteristically encountered by this population, (c) the special vulnerabilities of people with mental retardation, (d) the treatment programs used with (and appropriate for) people with mental retardation, and (e) the status of drug abuse prevention and drug education for this population. Controlled research dealing with the genesis, treatment, and prevention of drug abuse among people with mental retardation is essentially nonexistent, but badly needed.