Qualitative exploration of the experiences of men who use drugs of obtaining psychoactive medicinal products in Jordan

Abstract

In Jordan, almost any medication can be bought from pharmacies. This ready availability is linked with abuse. Previous literature describes medicine abuse from pharmacists' and general public perspectives. Here we investigate experiences of 17 men in addiction treatment in Amman (21-39 years) of obtaining psychoactive medicines. Alprazolam, clonazepam, bromazepam and tramadol were most commonly abused. Psychoactive medicines were obtained from street dealers, but pharmacies were preferred. Regulations appears ineffective; lack of understanding of pharmacists of the abuse potential of some medicines was perceived; 'softening rules' on supply was attributed to cultural and social norms around familiarity.

Substance use and substance use disorders in relation to COVID-19: qualitative experiences of people who use drugs in Jordan

“…In this study, participants reported that they faced no problem accessing the treatment centers during the pandemic either by ambulance or phone, the fact that may have mitigated the adverse consequences. None of the participants mentioned online interventions during the pandemic, which is consistent with previous studies from lowmiddle income countries (LMICs) (Arjadi et al, 2015;Wazaify et al, 2020). In other countries, programmatic adaptations to COVID-19 SUD care, including telehealth and loosening restrictions around medications for opioid use disorders mitigated the difficulties that patients had faced, especially among low-income individuals with SUD (Zhen-Duan et al, 2022).…”