ABSTRACT
Comorbid medical disorders in patients with substance use disorders are a major concern of both patients and practitioners. Before HIV disease surfaced, a great deal was written about the many medical disorders that occur as a result of substance abuse. In the health care system, it is often these disorders that bring substance abuse to the attention of caregivers. Medical disorders can result directly from the use of specific substances or as the result of the route of administration of a substance (e.g., intravenous or inhaled). In addition, certain medical disorders can be indirectly related to substance abuse, such as in the case of tuberculosis in injection drug users. This chapter reviews the major medical disorders associated with substance use (other than HIV disease, which is covered in Chapter 15) by considering four major substances of abuse: alcohol, cocaine, opioids, and cannabis, as well as the specific routes of administration commonly employed for these substances.
