TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Assessing geographical differences in illicit drug consumption- a comparison of results from epidemiological and wastewater data in Germany and Switzerland
JO  - Drug and alcohol dependence
A1  - Been, Frederic
A1  - Bijlsma, Lubertus
A1  - Benaglia, Lisa
A1  - Berset, Jean-Daniel
A1  - Botero-Coy, Ana M.
A1  - Castiglioni, Sara
A1  - Kraus, Ludwig
A1  - Zobel, Frank
A1  - Schaub, Michael P.
A1  - Bücheli, Alexander
A1  - Hernández, Félix
A1  - Delémont, Olivier
A1  - Esseiva, Pierre
A1  - Ort, Christoph
SP  - 189
EP  - 199
VL  - 161
IS  - 
N2  - BACKGROUND: Wastewater analysis is an innovative approach that allows monitoring illicit drug use at the community level. This study focused on investigating geographical differences in drug consumption by comparing epidemiological, crime and wastewater data. <br><br>METHODS: Wastewater samples were collected in 19 cities across Germany and Switzerland during one week, covering a population of approximately 8.1 million people. Self-report data and consumption offences for the investigated areas were used for comparison and to investigate differences between the indicators. <br><br>RESULTS: Good agreement between data sources was observed for cannabis and amphetamine-type stimulants, whereas substantial discrepancies were observed for cocaine. In Germany, an important distinction could be made between Berlin, Dortmund and Munich, where cocaine and particularly amphetamine were more prevalent, and Dresden, where methamphetamine consumption was clearly predominant. Cocaine consumption was relatively homogenous in the larger urban areas of Switzerland, although prevalence and offences data suggested a more heterogeneous picture. Conversely, marked regional differences in amphetamine and methamphetamine consumption could be highlighted. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Combining the available data allowed for a better understanding of the geographical differences regarding prevalence, typology and amounts of substances consumed. For cannabis and amphetamine-type stimulants, the complementarity of survey, police and wastewater data could be highlighted, although notable differences could be identified when considering more stigmatised drugs (i.e. cocaine and heroin). Understanding illicit drug consumption at the national scale remains a difficult task, yet this research illustrates the added value of combining complementary data sources to obtain a more comprehensive and accurate picture of the situation.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0376-8716
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.02.002
ID  - ref1
ER  -