Comparative study on the drug population of Portugal and a representative sample of Portuguese drug addicts residents of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Between 1995 and 1997, up to 50% of foreign drug treatment demanders indexed by specialised treatment institutions in Luxembourg were of Portuguese origin. The same ethnic group is also over-represented within the drug-related death register.
These observations have led the EMCDDA focal point of Luxembourg to commission a study on three sub-populations: native drug treatment demanders, Portuguese drug treatment demanders living in Luxembourg and finally a sample of Portuguese drug addicts treated in Portugal. The comparison of core socio-demographic data has revealed important differences between the selected samples. Portuguese drug addicts treated in Luxembourg appear to be very low aged (M=25 years, 9 months) and show a noticeably lower educational level than the other studied samples. Regarding substance-related data, it should be stressed that 98% of Portuguese native addicts consume opiates as a primary drug, compared with 82% for the Portuguese addicts treated in Luxembourg. 75% are IVDU’s whereas only 51.5% of Portuguese native addicts were injecting their primary drug at the moment of data collection. The Portuguese addicts resident in Luxembourg present the lowest needle sharing rate (32%) whilst 21.9% of the Portuguese native drug treatment demanders are HIV positive compared with 4 % for both of the other populations.