During the past five years, the use of cocaine and methamphetamine have become major problems in Mexico. In central and southern Mexico, cocaine has become widely used in large cities and among middle and upper income youth. Along the US border, the local manufacture of methamphetamine has made this drug extremely available and inexpensive. Mexican health officials, concerned about these trends, have asked US Department of State and NIDA for assistance in building a treatment system to meet the needs of Mexican stimulant users. A training plan was established. Materials from the NIDA-sponsored Matrix Stimulant Treatment Manuals have been translated into Spanish and modified to address specific issues. The training programs, already underway in Tijuana, Mexico City, and Guadalajara have presented information to over 100 Mexican healthcare professionals. How these materials have been integrated into an existing system that has traditionally emphasized the use of individual psychodynamic psychotherapy has been interesting and varied. A data collection program to assess the use of these materials is underway and future training and data collection efforts are in planning. One important by-product of the training has been a shift in the attitude of Mexican officials toward the use of methadone for heroin addiction treatment. Treatment officials in Chihuahua will initiate a treatment service using methadone and LAAM. Health care providers will come to UCLA in April for training in using these pharmacotherapies. This policy change may, in the long run, be one of the most important impacts of this initiative.
Learning Objectives: This session will present the activities conducted in Mexico designed to put in practice manualized US stimulant abuse treatment materials for use in Mexican treatment centers. Participants will learn how these materials were adapted to meet the specific issues of the Mexican patients and how these efforts impacted the policy makers.
Keywords: Substance Abuse Treatment, Training
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.