SY13-2-1 * CURRENT STATUS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN JAPAN; FOCUSED ON EVASIVE DRUGS

Abstract

Introduction. Drug abuse in Japan began after World War II and has been characterized by three epidemics of methamphetamine abuse. During the third epidemic, drug abuse in Japan changed especially with an emergence of evasive drugs. These are manufactured, sold, and used at large and are not controlled by law, although they have psychotropic effects. As the population abusing these drugs has grown, medical problems caused by acute intoxication and social problems have been increasingly reported. So, we examined clinical and psychosocial features of outpatients with evasive drug use disorder. Methods. Subjects were 15 male outpatients with evasive drug use disorder. The control group comprised 28 age-matched outpatients with methamphetamine use disorder. Clinical and psychosocial information including life histories and clinical information were compared between the two groups. Results and Conclusion. The two groups are different in terms of life background, psychosocial factors, and clinical features. These findings suggest that the evasive drugs may be generating a new type of drug abuser in Japan. Legal regulation of these drugs as well as early comprehensive intervention for adolescents with mental health problems may be required to prevent abuse of these drugs.