PENGGUNAAN KAEDAH PENGGANDA PENANDA ARAS BAGI MENENTUKAN POPULASI PENGGUNA DADAH DI MALAYSIA

Abstract

The issue of drug abuse at the global level shows an increase in demand and supply. However, annual statistics released by the National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA) show a decrease in detected drug users compared to the previous year. The main factor that caused the decrease was the government's efforts to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the year in question. Inaccurate estimates of the drug user population cause policies and strategies designed to deal with this issue to be less effective. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to estimate the population of youth drug users as the largest age segment of drug users in Malaysia using the benchmark multiplier method. Data from the NADA database were used as benchmarks and secondary data from the 2020 prevalence study were used as multipliers. The findings of the study showed that an estimated 654,000 individuals between the ages of 15 and 39 used drugs in 2021. A state-by-state comparison shows that Selangor has the highest number of drug users, with an estimated 133,000 individuals involved in drug use. Sabah is ranked second highest, with an estimated 91,000 drug users, while Johor is ranked third, with approximately 73,000 drug users in the state. Efforts to address the issue of substance abuse need to be increased based on the estimates shown from this study. This estimate is useful as a basis for future researchers in estimating the population of drug users or other hidden populations.