Drug Abuse among University Students of Rafsanjan, Iran

Objective: The present study aimed to determine the frequency of drug abused in a sample of university students in Rafsanjan, Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1,260 students volunteered (311 males and 949 females) with mean age of 21.35 years. Data were collected by a self-administrated questionnaire regarding drugs abuse and demographic information. Results: Benzodiazepines were the most common abused drugs which were reported in 94 students (7.4%). Other agents studied were cigarette and tobacco (159, cases 12.6%), alcoholic drinks (60 cases, 4.7%), and opiates (42 cases, 3.3%). Forty-three students (3.4%) had used methylphenidate in the last 6 months. Of this, 39 (90.6%) experienced insomnia. All students who abused methylphenidate indicated that the reason for this behavior was to raise alertness and conscious levels. Conclusion: The pattern of drug abuse among the students here seems similar to other reports from Iranian universities.