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| Issue 9, 2006 |
Trends in Methamphetamine/Amphetamine Admissions to Treatment: 1993-2003 |
| In Brief |
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Amphetamines and methamphetamine are central nervous system stimulants. They were the primary substances of abuse1 in nearly 136,000 admissions to the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) in 2003. TEDS is an annual compilation of data on the demographics and substance abuse problems of those admitted to substance abuse treatment. Methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions are discussed together because 3 of the 52 States2 and jurisdictions in TEDS do not distinguish between these drugs as substances of abuse. However, for the States that make this distinction, methamphetamine was the primary drug of abuse in 86 percent of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions in 2003.
Between 1993 and 2003, there were substantial increases in methamphetamine/amphetamine treatment admissions nationally. This report will examine these admissions and some of the changes that took place during this 11-year period.
| Figure 1. Number of Methamphetamine/Amphetamine Admissions: 1993-2003 | |
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| Source: 2003 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
The West had the largest number of States exceeding the national average in
both 1993 and 2003. Of the 13 States considered part of the West, only 3 did not
exceed the national average in 1993 or 2003. In 2003, two States in the West had
rates of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions more than four times the
national rate, four States had rates more than three times the national rate,
and two States had rates twice the national rate.
Geographic Distribution
The increase in primary
methamphetamine/amphetamine treatment admissions seen nationally did not occur
in all States or jurisdictions.4
Nationally, from 1993 to 2003, the rate of treatment admissions for primary
methamphetamine/amphetamine abuse increased from 13 to 56 per 100,000 population
aged 12 or older (Table 1). The nine States in the Northeast had a relatively
low rate of treatment admissions for primary methamphetamine/amphetamine abuse
in 1993, and the rates remained low in 2003. Among the 17 States in the South,
the admission rate for primary methamphetamine/amphetamine abuse increased in
the majority of States between 1993 and 2003. However, only two States exceeded
the national rate in 2003. In 1993, only 1 State of the 12 in the Midwest had a
primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admission rate in excess of the national
rate. By 2003, six States exceeded the national rate and two of those had rates
more than twice the national rate.
| Table 1. Primary Methamphetamine/Amphetamine Admission Rates per 100,000 Population Aged 12 or Older, by State: 1993 and 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| * Less
than 0.05 percent. -- No data available. Note: Percentages in boldface exceed the national rate for that year. Source: 2003 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
Between 1993 and 2003, the proportion of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions that were White declined from 83 to 73 percent while the proportion that were Hispanic increased from 9 to 16 percent.5 The largest part of this increase was among admissions of Mexican origin or ancestry (7 percent in 1993 to over 12 percent in 2003). The proportion that were of other Hispanic origin (including Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Other Hispanic origin) increased from 2 to over 3 percent during this time period. In both 1993 and 2003, Blacks were 3 percent of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions and American Indians/Alaska Natives were 2 percent, while Asians/Pacific Islanders were 2 percent in 1993 and 3 percent in 2003, and those of other races increased from 1 percent in 1993 to 3 percent in 2003.
| Figure 2. Percent of Primary Methamphetamine/Amphetamine Admissions, by Route of Administration: 1993-2003 | |
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| Source: 2003 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). |
In 2003, almost two thirds (65 percent) of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions entered ambulatory treatment settings8 (52 percent non-intensive outpatient, 13 percent intensive outpatient, and 0.1 percent detoxification). One quarter of admissions entered residential treatment settings, and the remaining 10 percent entered detoxification settings. These proportions were comparable to the proportion of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions in each setting in 1993.
End Notes
1 The primary
substance of abuse is the main substance reported at the time of admission.
2 AR, OR, and TX do
not distinguish between amphetamine and methamphetamine.
3
Secondary/tertiary substances are other substances of abuse also reported at
the time of admission.
4 As States vary in
population size, comparisons among States can only be made using rates of
admission per 100,000 population.
5 Race/ethnicity
categories are determined by combining responses from two questions. In TEDS,
respondents identifying themselves as Hispanic and as White or Black or of
unknown race are assigned to the Hispanic group. Respondents identifying
themselves as Hispanic and as American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific
Islander, or two or more races are assigned to the “other” group. Respondents
identifying themselves as non-Hispanic are grouped according to their racial
identification. Ethnicity is requested of all States; however, some do not
report this variable. In 1993, NC, NV, PR, and SD did not report ethnicity for
75 percent or more of their admissions. In 2003, AL, DC, SD, and WV did not
report ethnicity for 75 percent or more of their admissions. Approximately 4
percent of admissions did not have a reported ethnicity in 2003.
6 Principal
source of referral describes the person or agency referring the client to
the alcohol or drug abuse treatment program. For this analysis, several of these
referral sources were aggregated. “Other” source of referral includes “other
health care provider,” “school,” “employer,” and “other community referral.”
7 Criminal justice
referrals to substance abuse treatment may be affected by legislation. For
example, the California Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act, enacted in
November 2000, diverts drug offenders to treatment. For further information on
the impact of this legislation, see: Longshore, D., Urada, D., Evans, E., Hser,
Y., Prendergast, M., & Hawken, A. (2005, July 22). Evaluation of the Substance
Abuse and Crime Prevention Act: 2004 report. University of California Los
Angeles Integrated Substance Abuse Programs. Retrieved January 20, 2006, from
http://www.uclaisap.org/prop36/reports.htm
8 Service
settings are of three types: ambulatory, residential/rehabilitative, and
detoxification. Ambulatory settings include intensive outpatient, non-intensive
outpatient, and ambulatory detoxification. Residential/rehabilitative settings
include hospital (other than detoxification), short-term (30 days or fewer), and
long-term (more than 30 days). Detoxification includes 24-hour hospital
inpatient and 24-hour free-standing residential..
| The Drug and Alcohol
Services Information System (DASIS) is an integrated data system
maintained by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One component of DASIS is the
Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is a compilation of data on the
demographic characteristics and substance abuse problems of those
admitted for substance abuse treatment. The information comes primarily
from facilities that receive some public funding. Information on
treatment admissions is routinely collected by State administrative
systems and then submitted to SAMHSA in a standard format. TEDS records
represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be
admitted to treatment more than once. State admission data are reported
to TEDS by the Single State Agencies (SSAs) for substance abuse
treatment. There are significant differences among State data collection
systems. Sources of State variation include completeness of reporting,
facilities reporting TEDS data, clients included, and treatment
resources available. See the annual TEDS reports for details.
Approximately 1.8 million records are included in TEDS each year. The DASIS Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA; Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc., Arlington, Virginia; and by RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute). Information and data for this issue are based on data reported to TEDS through April 11, 2005.
Access the latest TEDS reports at: |
| The DASIS Report is
published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be
reproduced or copied without permission from
SAMHSA. Additional copies of this report or other reports from the
Office of Applied Studies are available on-line:
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov. Citation of the source is appreciated.
For questions about this report please e-mail:
shortreports@samhsa.hhs.gov
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This page was last updated on December 30, 2008. |
