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Opium and to a certain extent cannabis were the only drugs of abuse in Burma until the early 1970s when heroin addiction spread rapidly among young people, reaching epidemic proportions. Heroin addiction has caused serious social and health problems that prompted the authorities to adopt new legislation in 1974, the Narcotic and Dangerous Drugs Law, which provided for compulsory treatment and severe penalties for drug-related infractions, including the death sentence for certain categories of drug trafficking. The authorities in Burma consider that legislation, drug-law enforcement, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, and community measures are important and interrelated strategies in combating drug abuse among young people. Various forms of drug-abuse preventive programmes are carried out for such groups as youths, parents, community leaders and professionals dealing with the problems of the young. Preventive school programmes include lectures and discussions; exhibitions; essay writing and other forms of competition for students; in-service training for teachers; healthy alternatives to drug use; a scheme for talented students; and participation in a national mass movement for literacy. Young people are also encouraged to take active part in various community programmes such as the "Red Cross" and voluntary fire brigades as well as in specially designed programmes that are carried out at the local level to prevent and reduce drug abuse. As the extended family still prevails in Burma, with parents and elders being respected by the young, this important resource is utilized in coping with drug abuse among young people.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The underground nature of drug abuse is a major cross-national barrier to the collection of sound epidemiological data. The authors examine some common patterns of secrecy developed by drug abusers to avoid social disapproval or punishment in different socio-cultural settings. Assurances of anonymity and confidentiality may not be sufficient to make the majority of heavy drug abusers "visible" to the researcher. One way to overcome this barrier is to train field staff to recognize certain ethnographic signs i.e. the specific appearance and behaviour of drug abusers that can facilitate identification of target populations.

To overcome the blanket of secrecy developed by many drug-abusing populations, special strategies have been used to generate more reliable and valid data on the extent and nature of the problem. The epidemiological rationale for eight strategies to identify cases of drug abuse are reviewed along with their limitations and examples of their application. The choice of strategies in any given setting will depend upon the drug-use patterns and legal framework of the particular society, the form of social organization developed by drug abusers and the types of contact they have with formal institutions such as law enforcement and treatment agencies.