The Pattern of Drug Abuse among Soldiers

Drug abuse is a universal problem and is pervasive in Iran. All young men must pass the military training and this high stress period can have a motivating or inhibiting effect on the drug abuse tendency. This study describes the pattern of drug abuse among these soldiers. This is a descriptive cross sectional study, which the statistic population included 322 Iranian soldiers from 13 provinces who were in military service at the time of study (2010-2011) and were selected by quota sampling method. Data gathering was done by addiction screening questionnaire, Addiction Severity Index (ASI), military duty status, and demographic questionnaire. In addicted soldiers, opium and marijuana abuse were ranked first and second (18.8% and 10.6% respectively).The most prevalent method of substance abuse was smoking (44.4%). Fifty five percent of the addicted soldiers have no access to the drugs at the place of service. The soldiers who had started alcohol before 15 years old have the highest prevalence of alcohol abuse(48.1%). The present study indicated that there is a significant relationship between the first and the current method of drug abuse, and also between the age of onset and the first substance used. According to the onset of addiction prior to the military service, prevention must be done before this period. Due to ease of use, the tendency toward industrial substances is more likely that requires more consideration.