Study on methods of estimating size of drug user

Objective To explore the effective method for estimateing the size of drug users. Methods Capture-mark-recapture method,multiplier method and delphi method were applied to calculate the numbers of drug users in Leshan downtown district,using the data collected Leshan detoxic center from 1997 to 2002. Results The size of drug users calculated in Leshan downtown district were 3?455,1?703 and 2?600 by capture-mark-recapture method,multiplier method and delphi method,respectively. Conclusion Capture-mark-recapture method was easy to operate,and credibility of the data counted was high.Multiplier method was convenient to count,but want to obtain the true multiplier was difficult.Delphi method was useful to investigate the closed population,but its results was influenced by a lot of subjective factors.