Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, January-March 2020, Vol. 14, No. 1 207 Common Types and Methods of Drug Usage In Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Hamid Taghinejad 1 , Ali Khorshidi 2 , Noorollah Yadeghari 3 , Walieh Menati 4 , Rostam Menati 5 , Aziz Kassani 6 , Taha Ashayeri 7 1 Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, 2 Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Psychosocial Injuries Research Center, 3 Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Psychosocial Injuries Research Center, Shahid Mostafa Khomaeini Hospital, 4 MSc of Epidemiology, Student Research Commitstee, 5 Psychosocial Injuries Research Center, Ilam University of Medical sciences, Ilam, Iran, 6 Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Dezful University of Medical Sciences, Iran, 7 PHD of Sociology, Psychosocial Injuries Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran Abstract Introduction: Drug usage is a prevalent social and health problem in most countries. The highest prevalence of drug abuse has been reported among people aged 30-40 years old. The purpose of this study was to determination of the types of drugs and the methods of drug usage in Iran in a systematic and meta-analysis study. Methods: This study was performed based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Databases ofSID, Iran Doc, ISI, Cochrane library, Science direct, PubMed/Medline, and Scopus were independently searched by two researchers using MeSH keywords. Articles published between 2004 and 2018 were recruited.Data was analyzed using random effectsmodel using STATA-SE12 software. Heterogeneity among studies was investigated using, T 2 and I 2 statistical indices. Results: Initial search retrieved 90 articles from which 7 articles with desirable quality were fnally analyzed. Opium was the most common in used narcotic50 %(95% CI: 35-66%) followed by opium extract44%(95% CI: 5-83%), and heroin 19%(95% CI: 12-26%). Using more than one narcotic was observed in 9% (95% CI: 4-15%). The inhalation was the most common method of usage72 %( 95% CI: 61-83%) followed by oral consumption 32%(95% CI: 9-54%) and injection 14%( 95% CI: 05-24%). Conclusion: Drug abuseis a common phenomenon in Iran. It is amenable to reduce the tendency to using drugs by providing appropriate training, informing the risks of drug abuse, and identifying and educating high-risk groups. Keywords: Drug usage, Meta-analysis, Iran Corresponding Author: Walieh Menati MSc of Epidemiology, Student Research Committee, Ilam University of Medical sciences, Ilam, Iran. Email: Waliehmenati@yahoo.com. Introduction Iranian scientists, have been aware of the benefcial and detrimental impacts of opium and had used it as an antidote (1, 2). Besides other major crises including nuclear threats, environmental pollution and poverty, drug addiction has turned intoan acute problem of the today’s world. Addiction to drugs has also boosted in Iran in recent years.Theprimary offcial statistics have estimatedthat around 2 million drug addicts and abusers are present in the country (3,4). In addition to the direct economic burden, serious healththreats such as respiratory illnesses, AIDS, hepatitis, tuberculosis etc., as well as numerous socio-economic complications DOI Number: 10.37506/v14/i1/2020/ijfmt/192896