Clinical profiles of first-time drug offenders in Taipei City: Comparison of methamphetamine, MDMA, and marijuana users

Abstract

Abstract Background: Little is known regarding the clinical profiles of first-time drug offenders who received addiction treatment under deferred prosecution in Taiwan. Method: We recruited participants who received addiction treatment under deferred prosecution for methamphetamine (METH), MDMA, and marijuana (MJ) use from 2017 Jan to 2019 Dec. We used contingency analysis and multivariate logistic regression to compare their sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric and physical comorbidities, and factors associated with treatment dropouts. Results: Of the 1,216 patients, 87.4 % were male and 12.6% female. 77.4% were METH users, with 11.4% MDMA and 11.2% MJ. Compared to the METH group, the MDMA group was more likely to have concurrent use of alcohol, ketamine, and new psychoactive substances, while the MJ group was more likely to have alcohol use only. Both the MDMA and MJ groups were less likely to have substance-induced psychotic disorder (aOR=0.28 [0.09, 0.93], p<0.05; aOR=0.1 [0.01, 0.73], p<0.05) compared to the METH group. Compared to the METH group, MDMA and MJ groups were less likely to have STDs such as HIV and syphilis. Being age <35 (aOR: 1.30 [1.02-1.68]) and having education < college (aOR: 1.67 [1.29-2.17]) were significantly associated with higher odds of treatment dropout. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated distinct clinical profiles of different drug types among first-time drug offenders. Such findings could offer valuable implications for a more tailored intervention program designed for illicit drug users in a legal system.