BPD and drug addiction (street drugs), dependency

Connection between borderline personality and drug. Some of BPD people have this addiction. There is a lot of studies about this but once again the goal is not to stigmatize but understand why. You will find on the last part of this document our vision which we hope comprehensive and listening to the suffering

* Zanarini MC, Frankenburg FR, Hennen J,... - McLean Hospital, Belmont, USA.
Am J Psychiatry. 2OO4 - Axis I comorbidity in patients with borderline personality disorder: 6-year follow-up and prediction of time to remission
Follow-Up 2 years: 20.4% of drug abuse/dependence disorder experienced by Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder

* Mills KL, Teesson M, Darke S, ... - National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Australia.
2OO4 J Subst Abuse Treat. - Young people with heroin dependence: Findings from the Australian Treatment Outcome Study
"This paper examines the patterns and correlates of heroin use in a cohort of 210 young Australians aged between 18 and 24, who were participants in the Australian Treatment Outcome Study, a longitudinal study of treatment outcomes for heroin dependence. Of major importance were the high rates of psychiatric comorbidity found among this group (37% lifetime Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, 23% current Major Depression, 75% Anti-Social Personality Disorder, and 51% Borderline Personality Disorder)..."

* Zimmerman & Mattia 1999,  95 patients with drug abuse, 27.3% borderline

* Kranzler H. R., Satel S. & Apter 1994 DSM III, 50 cocaine-dependent inpatients - , 70% with personality disorder and 34% borderline
Comprehensive Psychiatry, 35, 335–340

* Marlowe, Husband, Lamb, Kirby, Iguchi, Platt. 1995 DSM III, Psychiatric comorbidity in cocaine dependence - 100 cocaïne dependent patients, 22% borderline.

* Williams JH, Wellman NA, Rawlins JN - University of Oxford, Department of Experimental Psychology, UK
1996 Addiction. - Cannabis use correlates with schizotypy in healthy people.
Subjects who had used cannabis showed higher scores on schizotypy, borderline and psychoticism scales than never-users

* Troisi A, Pasini A, Saracco M, Spalletta G - Department of Psychiatry, University of Rome Tor Vergata
1998 Addiction - Psychiatric symptoms in male cannabis users not using other illicit drugs.
Cannabis users: The prevalence of co-morbid psychiatric disorders varied with the pattern of cannabis use: 83% of subjects with DSM-III-R cannabis dependence, 46% of those with DSM-III-R cannabis abuse and 29% of occasional users received at least one DSM-III-R psychiatric diagnosis
60% with borderline disorder (specified by inserm document)

* Skodol AE, Oldham JM, Gallaher PE - Dept. of Psychiatry, Columbia University College, New York
1999 Am J Psychiatry. - Axis II comorbidity of substance use disorders among patients referred for treatment of personality disorders.
Close to 60% of subjects with substance use disorders had borderline disorders (but not directly associed with cannabis)

* Hatzitaskos P, Soldatos CR, Kokkevi A, Stefanis CN. - Dept. of Psychiatry, Hellenic Air Force, Athens, Greece
1999 Compr Psychiatry -   Substance abuse patterns and their association with psychopathology and type of hostility in male patients with borderline and antisocial personality disorder.
In BPD patients, the number of substances abused showed a negative association with depression
31.7% of BPD patients had regular usage of cannabis (specified by inserm document )

"Many individuals "treat" their disorders with the wrong "medicine" - usually alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and other substances" (Leland M. Heller, MD, www.biologicalunhappiness.com)

"Borderline substance abusers are likely to abuse more than one drug" (bpdcentral)

"These may be associated with episodes of impulsive aggression, self-injury, and drug or alcohol abuse" (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/bpd.cfm)

Many bpd people are using drugs like a way to escape from their anxiety and especially cannabis users, cannabis which is often used like "sedative"