Abstract

Background: Iran ranks first per capita in the use of opiates, but we have little information about possible differences regarding the 2 most commonly used illicit drugs, namely opium and its dross (residue). Design: This is a cross-sectional study. Setting: A cross-sectional study about drug abuse and drug dependence in Iran was conducted from April 2006 to August 2008 in the prisons of 28 Iranian provinces, in the treatment centers, and in the streets. Participants: To pursue the objectives of this research, participants included 2979 opiate addicts including opium users (n = 2636) and dross users (n = 343), who were not significantly different by gender (P = 0.269) or age (P = 0.452). Measurements: An anonymous questionnaire was completed through an interview that gathered sociodemographic characteristics and information about some high-risk behaviors. Result: By the end of the study, we concluded that dross addicts, in comparison with opium addicts, were mostly immigrants from rural areas to urban areas (P = 0.031 chi(2) test, 95 confidence interval CI), mostly uneducated, illiterate, or semiliterate (P = 0.04 chi(2) test, 95% CI), had illegal occupations (P = 0.048 chi(2) test, 95% CI), were cigarette smokers (P < 0.000 chi(2) test, 95% CI), and had experienced drug injections (P = 0.032 chi(2) test, 95% CI) and drug overdose (P = 0.007 chi(2) test, 95% CI). They also had a history of hospital admission within the preceding year because of drug overdose (P < 0.000) and a record of being arrested and jailed in the past year (P = 0.028 chi(2) test, 95% CI). Conclusion: These results indicated the need for more intensive and effective care for the opioid addicts in Iran.