The Use of Self-Report and Drugs Tests in the Measurement of Illicit Drug Consumpiton

Ziggy MacDonald and Stephen Pudney

No 03/3, Discussion Papers in Economics from Division of Economics, School of Business, University of Leicester

Abstract: We use data from the New England and Wales Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) programme to assess the validity of self-report measures of illicit drug use and to evaluate the use of alternative drug testing strategies within survey enquiries. Our analysis of the NEW-ADAM data reveals that bio-assay measurements of drug use tend not to be very sensitive to the cut-off levels selected for screening tests, a result that holds for cannabis, cocaine and opiates. We also show that a self-reported history of previous drug use can be used as a way of identifying individuals who are potential under-reporters of current drug use. This suggests a selective drug testing strategy which can reduce dramatically the cost of drug testing without comprising the accuracy of measurements of illicit drug use.

Keywords: Drugs testing; Self-reports; Concordance; Testing Strategies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2003-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
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