National Addictions Management Service, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore.
Research Division, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore.
Singapore Med J. 2023 Jun;64(6):385-390. doi: 10.11622/smedj.2022071.
Cannabis has consistently been the third most commonly abused drug among drug arrestees in Singapore over the past few years. Accordingly, this study aimed to understand the profile of cannabis users in Singapore and explore the effects of cannabis use on drug progression.
A total of 450 participants who had used cannabis at least once in their lifetime were recruited from the National Addictions Management Service, prisons, the Community Rehabilitation Centre and halfway houses from August 2017 to May 2018. A face-to-face questionnaire was administered and descriptive analyses were conducted.
The mean participant age was 40.9 ± 14.51 years, and 93.1% of them were male. The participants generally initiated cannabis use during adolescence, at a mean onset age of 16.5 ± 4.46 years. Most (89.6%) were introduced to cannabis by peers. Approximately half of them (46.9%) had used cannabis before other illicit drugs and 42.1% of them had used heroin as the succeeding drug.
In Singapore, cannabis use is often initiated during adolescence, largely under peer influence. Cannabis users may progress to other illicit drugs, particularly heroin, later in life.
在过去几年中,大麻一直是新加坡毒品被捕者中排名第三的最常滥用药物。因此,本研究旨在了解新加坡大麻使用者的概况,并探讨大麻使用对药物进展的影响。
本研究于 2017 年 8 月至 2018 年 5 月期间,从国家药物管理局、监狱、社区康复中心和中途之家招募了至少使用过一次大麻的 450 名参与者。通过面对面问卷调查进行描述性分析。
参与者的平均年龄为 40.9 ± 14.51 岁,其中 93.1%为男性。参与者通常在青春期开始使用大麻,平均起始年龄为 16.5 ± 4.46 岁。大多数人(89.6%)是通过同龄人接触到大麻的。大约一半的人(46.9%)在使用其他非法药物之前使用过大麻,而 42.1%的人使用过海洛因。
在新加坡,大麻的使用通常始于青春期,主要受同龄人影响。大麻使用者可能会在以后的生活中转向其他非法药物,特别是海洛因。