American Indian methamphetamine and other drug user in the Southwestern United States.

This is the Results Article for CTN-0033-Ot-2. Collaborations with Southwestern tribal entities and treatment programs in and around New Mexico were developed to investigate the extent of methamphetamine and other drug use among American Indians (AIs) in the Four Corners region. Nine focus groups were held, mostly with Southwestern AI participants (N=81) from three diverse New Mexico communities to understand community members’, treatment providers’, and clients/relatives’ views on methamphetamine. A telephone survey of staff was conducted (N=100) from agencies across New Mexico to assess perceptions of methamphetamine users among people working with AI populations. Self-reported drug use data from 300 AI clients/relatives who completed the Addiction Severity Index (AI) in the context of treatment at three diverse addiction treatment programs were collected and analyzed. Each focus group offered a unique perspective about the effect of drugs and alcohol on each respective community. Though data from the phone surveys and ASIs suggested concerning rates of methamphetamine use, with women more adversely affected by substance use in general, alcohol was identified as the biggest substance use problem for AI populations in the Southwest. There appears to be agreement that methamphetamine use is a significant problem in these communities, but that alcohol is much more prevalent and problematic. There was less agreement about what should be done to prevent and treatment methamphetamine use. Future research should attend to regional and tribal differences due to variability in drug use patterns, and should focus on identifying and improving dissemination of effective substance use interventions.

Related protocols: CTN-0033-Ot-2