title: Regional methamphetamine use among U.S. Army personnel stationed in the continental United States and Hawaii: a six-year retrospective study (2000-2005).
abstract: Substance use disorders constitute a serious and persistent threat to military readiness and to the health and safety of military personnel and their families. Methamphetamine is among the most addictive and damaging of commonly abused drugs; this is of great concern for military health providers in Hawaii due to the unusually high prevalence in the local community. The effect of regional drug use on active duty subpopulations has not been previously studied. This study includes a 6-year retrospective sample of laboratory-confirmed methamphetamine-, cocaine-, and marijuana-positive drug tests among Army soldiers stationed in Hawaii and western and eastern continental U.S. installations. The findings suggest that active duty members are significantly affected by the local drug climate. However, current military drug policies also deter use as evidenced by low absolute drug-positive rates even in regions of high civilian prevalence.
authors.affiliation: MCHK-PS, 1 Jarrett White Road, Tripler AMC, HI 96859, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Lacy
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Ditzler
authors.forename: Raymond S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Jon T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Ochikubo
authors.forename: Robert R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Roussel
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pizarro-Matos
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vazquez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002188:Cannabis; D003042:Cocaine / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006254:Hawaii / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000652:urine*; D008887:Military Medicine; D008889:Military Personnel; D016134:Organizational Policy; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D008694:Methamphetamine; D003042:Cocaine