Abstract:
Illicit drug users are people who use psycho-
active substances that the production, sale or use
is prohibited by law and for long term on regular
basis for non-medical purposes. Illicit drug use
has become a significant problem in Sri Lanka
during recent years. This study was conducted to
describe characteristics of male illicit drug users
in rehabilitation centres. A cross-sectional study
was conducted among 431 male drug users in
five selected rehabilitation centres. Data were
collected using an interviewer-administered
questionnaire and were analysed using SPSS
statistical software. The majority of the sample
were Sinhala (82.4%), Buddhists (70.5%) and early
school dropouts (32.2%) with a mean age (SD) of
32(10.3) years. Nearly 40% were readmissions.
The highest percentage of the drug users were
from the Western province (75.6%), followed by
Kurunegala (5.1%), Pollonnaruwa and Galle (both
3.0%). In 87%, drugs were introduced by friends.
The majority (90%) had initiated substance use
with smoking and had started drug use as an
experiment (67.5%) or due to peer pressure (25.5%).
Nearly 3/4th of drug users were unaware about
harmful outcomes of drug use and were able to
conceal their behaviour from family for more than
one year. A considerable proportion (84.7%) had
easy accessibility to illicit drugs and the majority
(93.0%) was able to easily purchase drugs. The age
of the first drug use was positively correlated with
the age of the first alcohol use (r= 0.687; p<0.01)
and first smoking (r= 0.732; p< 0.01).Level of
education, area of residence, experimental usage,
peer influence, availability and accessibility and
previous use of other substances were identified
as the main characteristics of drug users and
drug use behaviour. These findings will be useful
in designing and targeting interventions for
prevention of drug addiction in Sri Lanka.
