Prevalence of cocaine and marijuana use among pregnant women in a military health care setting

Abstract

Background: Illicit drug use is common in the United States. The degree of substance abuse among pregnant women, its prevention, and treatment are currently matters of great concern.

Methods: We conducted a blinded cross-sectional study on the prevalence of cocaine and marijuana metabolites in the urines of an obstetric population served by a military community hospital. Ninety percent of patients screened were nonactive-duty family members.

Results: An overall illicit drug use prevalence of 1.6 percent was found. This contrasts to prevalences of 10 to 15 percent reported in civilian obstetric populations.

Conclusions: Job site drug screening of the active-duty soldier may be the reason for differences between the military and nonmilitary populations.