EVALUATE DRUG DEPENDENT PATIENTS CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR BEFORE AND AFTER METHADONE MAINTENANCE THERAPY

Background and Aim : Today, one of the world s problems is drug abuse and dependence. Iran has the highest rate of heroin and opium addiction per capita in the world. Substance abuse disorder considered being the deadly cause of morbidity and mortality in men, preceded by traffic accidents and coronary disease, Criminal behaviors such as thefts, murders, suicides, illegal drug trafficking, gang- fighting and carrying illegal weapons are more common among addicted patients Criminal behaviors . Forty years of experience and research have shown that, methadone maintenance therapy(MMT) in drug dependent patients is highly effective in reducing crime .The main aim of this study was to evaluate drug dependent patients criminal behavior before and after methadone maintenance therapy Methods : This is a descriptive study investigated criminal behavior in a sample of 200 drug dependent patients referred to MMT clinics from October 2007 to October 2013. Sample subjects were chosen on a voluntary basis by random easy sampling. Sample population was composed of two groups of 100 patients. First group was under methadone maintenance treatment, second group that did not receive any kind of prior drug addiction treatment, whatsoever. Materials for the study were questionnaires, that completed at the before and after 3 months of MMT. also Information about age, sex, marital status, education, and criminal behavior were completed by questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.Results : Out of 200 patients, 190(95%) were males .173 (86.5%) were 18-45 years of age, 117(58.5%) were single and 131(65.5%) had education under high school. Criminal behavior among patients in( MMT) group was lower than the group that did not yet receive such treatment. The highest difference in criminal behavior for the last three months of this study for MMT group and non-MMT group was theft and rubbery 25% and 0%, murder and suicide 19% and 0%, drug trafficking 14% and 0%, victims of gang fighting 34% and 3%, and carrying illegal weapons 35% and 4% respectively.Conclusion : Similar to other studies around the world, findings of this study show that, methadone maintenance therapy is highly effective in reducing crimes among drug dependent patients

کلیدواژه ها:

drug dependent ، criminal behavior ، methadone maintenance treatment