November 16, 2001

Amphetamine Treatment Admissions Increase: 1993-1999

In Brief
  • In 1993, amphetamine treatment admission rates were high in a few Western States—California, Oregon, and Nevada.


  • By 1999, high amphetamine treatment admission rates were seen in most States west of the Mississippi.

Amphetamines (central nervous system stimulants) made up less than 5 percent of the 1.6 million admissions to publicly funded substance abuse treatment facilities in 1999. However, this relatively small number represented an increase from almost 2 percent in 1993.

Amphetamines can be smoked, injected, or inhaled. Methamphetamine is the primary form of amphetamine seen in the United States. It made up 94 percent of all amphetamine treatment admissions reported to the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) in 1999. Methamphetamine (known as speed, crank, ice, glass, or crystal meth) is produced in small clandestine laboratories or imported in larger quantities from Mexico.

For this report, TEDS data were used to calculate amphetamine treatment admission rates per 100,000 persons aged 12 or older for each State. In 1993, amphetamine treatment admission rates were high in a few Western States-California, Oregon, and Nevada. By 1999, high amphetamine treatment admission rates were seen in most States west of the Mississippi.

 
Figure 1. Amphetamine Treatment Admission Rates per 100,000 Persons Aged 12 or Older: 
1993, 1996, 1999

Amphetamine Treatment Admission Rates: 1993
In 1993, the treatment admission rate for primary amphetamine abuse in the United States was 14 admissions per 100,000 aged 12 or older. No State had a rate higher than 100 per 100,000. Three States had rates of 55 per 100,000 or more, and 89 percent of reporting States had rates of fewer than 28 per 100,000.

 

 

Amphetamine Treatment Admission Rates: 1996
By 1996, the treatment admission rate for primary amphetamine abuse in the United States had increased by 79 percent, to 24 per 100,000 aged 12 or older. Ten States had rates of at least 55 per 100,000, and three of these had rates of at least 100 per 100,000. The proportion of States with rates fewer than 28 per 100,000 had fallen to 66 percent.

Amphetamine Treatment Admission Rates: 1999
By 1999, the treatment admission rate for primary amphetamine abuse in the United States as a whole had increased to 32 per 100,000 aged 12 or older. Thirteen States had rates of at least 55 per 100,000, and eight of these had rates of 100 per 100,000 or more.

1993

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1996

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1999

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Admissions per 100,000 Aged 12 or Older

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Source: SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).

 

Figure 2. Changes in Amphetamine Treatment Admission Rates: 1993-1999

Changes in Amphetamine Treatment Admission Rates: 1993-1999
Amphetamine treatment admission rates increased between 1993 and 1999 by 250 percent or more in 14 States and by 100 to 249 percent in another 10 States.

The largest rate increases were reported in States that had relatively low 1993 rates of fewer than 28 per 100,000 (Table 1). Despite large percentage increases, the 1999 rates remained low in some of these States (e.g., Tennessee, Indiana, and Alabama). In others, however, large percentage increases signified high rates (e.g., Utah and Idaho).
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Percent Change

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Source: SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).

 
Table 1. States with Large Percentage Increases in Amphetamine Treatment Admission Rates: 1993-1999
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), a national-level dataset comprising State administrative data from treatment facilities receiving public funds. The TEDS system includes records for some 1.6 million substance abuse treatment admissions annually. TEDS records represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person may be admitted to treatment more than once.

The DASIS Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA; Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc., Arlington, Virginia; and RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

Information and data for this issue are based on data reported to TEDS through April 16, 2001.

Access the latest TEDS reports at:
www.oas.samhsa.gov/dasis.htm

Access the latest TEDS public use files at:
webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/SAMHDA-SERIES/00056.xml

Amphetamine Admissions per 100,00 Aged 12 or Older Percent Change
1993 1996 1999 1993-1999
United States 13.8 24.5 31.8 131
Tennessee 0.0 0.1 2.9 6,088
Utah 16.4 88.1 168.0 924
Idaho 20.4 83.7 207.5 917
Missouri 7.1 32.5 69.0 873
Iowa 12.5 168.2 117.8 841
Arkansas 13.5 48.4 96.7 614
Wyoming 14.9 n/a 99.5 566
Washington 18.0 63.2 112.1 524
Indiana 2.6 3.0 14.1 441
Alabama 1.3 4.5 7.1 427
South Dakota 4.8 31.9 24.8 415
North Dakota 2.7 11.2 12.9 384
Minnesota 8.1 17.5 29.5 264
Oklahoma 18.9 63.8 66.7 252
n/a Data not available

Source: SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).

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 may be downloaded from  

Other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are also available on-line at the OAS home page:   http://www.oas.samhsa.gov.

This page was last updated on December 31, 2008.