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Drug Use in the United States-Mexico Border Area: Is There an Epidemic Waiting to Happen?

National Institute on Drug Abuse

Nancy J. Kennedy

Center for Substance Abuse Prevention

This article examines the prevalence of illicit drug, alcohol, and cigarette use along the U.S. side of the international border with Mexico. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) provides unique coverage of the Mexico border area, based on its design that oversamples Hispanics in areas where they tend to be concentrated. The prevalence of drug use along the border is very similar to that found throughout the remainder of the United States. However, Hispanics residing near the border exhibit lowerprevalence ratesfor most classes of drugs than their counterparts in the remainder of the United States. Conversely, Hispanic youth report comparatively higherprevalence rates. These findings imply that we must remain vigilant in our prevention efforts in the border area to keep drug use from escalating.

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