Drugs and drug addictions: indicators and trends 1999

The report is comprised of three sections. The first section is dedicated to presenting the legal and institutional framework under which drug consumption falls. It goes beyond a simple reminder of key legislation related to different drugs by retracing the evolution of actions taken by public authorities over the past 30 years, and describes the current state of systems used in fighting drugs. 

The second section deals with measuring the drug phenomenon in France and is supported by a certain number of indicators. Thus, only the quantifiable aspects of this phenomenon are described here: concerning demand (number of users, problem users, related characteristics, and measurement of harm incurred linked to drug consumption); concerning supply (number of individuals affected by drug business, seizures, etc.). 

For each question addressed, there is at least one statistical indicator of measurement that may be monitored from one period to another. Data are critically presented along with methodological information. 

When possible, the process of observing this phenomenon by using indicators is supplemented with data from selective surveys or qualitative studies. 

In the third section, articles written by various authors are presented. These describe results of surveys, studies, or research. This work, which may fall into different scientific fields, sheds additional light on the subject, and may even contradict measurements from indicators. 

They may include questions that have not yet been considered, or aspects that they are unable to clarify (qualitative approach, short term patterns that indicators will not be able to interpret before a certain period). The OFDT sought out authors with scientifically guaranteed research. However, only the authors are bound by the context of each work.