Evaluating the impact of Mexico’s drug policy reforms on people who inject drugs in Tijuana, B.C., Mexico, and San Diego, CA, United States: a binational mixed methods research agenda

Angela M Robertson, Richard S Garfein, Karla D Wagner, Sanjay R Mehta, Carlos Magis-Rodriguez, Jazmine Cuevas-Mota, Patricia Gonzalez Moreno-Zuniga, Steffanie A Strathdee, Proyecto El Cuete IV and STAHR II

Policymakers and researchers seek answers to how liberalized drug policies affect people who inject drugs (PWID). In response to concerns about the failing "war on drugs," Mexico recently implemented drug policy reforms that partially decriminalized possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use while promoting drug treatment. Recognizing important epidemiologic, policy, and socioeconomic differences between the United States-where possession of any psychoactive drugs without a prescription remains illegal-and Mexico-where possession of small quantities for personal use was partially decriminalized, we sought to assess changes over time in knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and infectious disease profiles among PWID in the adjacent border cities of San Diego, CA, USA, and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.