January 11, 2002

Heroin Treatment Admissions Increase: 1993-1999

In Brief
  • The West and Northeast had the highest heroin treatment admission rates between 1993 and 1999
     
  • Heroin treatment admission rates increased in many States
     
  • High purity and "generational forgetting" may be reasons for increased heroin use
 
Treatment admission rates for primary heroin addiction increased in publicly funded facilities across the nation between 1993 and 1999. Several factors may have been responsible for this rise. First, high-purity heroin, which can be inhaled, was widely available. The effects of inhaling heroin, including addiction, are the same as injecting it. Second, although young adults had seen the long-term adverse effects of crack cocaine use, they knew relatively few long-term heroin users and were less aware of the consequences of heroin use. This phenomenon is known as "generational forgetting."

For this report, heroin treatment admission rates per 100,000 persons aged 12 or older were calculated for each State for 1993 to 1999 using the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). Although these rates included a substantial proportion of all heroin treatment admissions, they did not include heroin addicts seeking treatment in privately owned, for-profit methadone clinics.
Figure 1. Heroin Admission Rates per 100,000 Population Aged 12 or Older: 1993, 1996, 1999*




Heroin Treatment Admission Rates: 1993
In 1993, the treatment admission rate for primary heroin abuse in the United States was 95 admissions per 100,000 persons aged 12 or older. Three States had rates of 287 or more per 100,000, and 57 percent of reporting States had rates of less than 20 per 100,000.

 

Heroin Treatment Admission Rates: 1996
By 1996, the admission rate for primary heroin abuse in the United States had increased by 7 percent, to 102 per 100,000 persons aged 12 or older. Five States had rates of 287 or more per 100,000.



Heroin Treatment Admission Rates: 1999
By 1999, the admission rate for primary heroin abuse in the United States as a whole had increased to 105 per 100,000 persons aged 12 or older. Six States and the District of Columbia had rates of 287 or more per 100,000. Only 45 percent of reporting States had rates of less than 20 per 100,000.
1993

Map showing heroin admission rates per 100,000 population aged 12 or older in 1993

1996

Map showing heroin admission rates per 100,000 population aged 12 or older in 1996

1999

Map showing heroin admission rates per 100,000 population aged 12 or older in 1999

Admissions per 100,000 Aged 12 or Older

Source: 1999 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).

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

Changes in Heroin Treatment Admission Rates: 1993 to 1999

Heroin admission rates increased between 1993 and 1999 by 200 percent or more in six States, and by 100 percent to 199 percent in another 11 States (Figure 2).

Some of the largest rate increases were reported in States that had low rates in 1993 (Table 1). For example, although rates increased by 182 percent in Louisiana, the rate remained low. In some States with high rates in 1993, there were large rate increases (e.g., Rhode Island), but in others rates increased only slightly (e.g., New York) or even declined (e.g., California).

Percent Change

Source: 1999 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).
Table 1. States with Large Percentage Changes in Heroin Treatment Admission Rates, by Percent Change: 1993-1999
Figure Notes:
*The map categories are based on the median, 75th, and 90th percentiles of the range of 1994 heroin treatment admission rates. Dark blue indicates States with rates at or above the level of the 1994 90th percentile (i.e., 287 admissions per 100,000 population aged 12 or older); medium blue indicates rates from the 1994 75th to 89th percentiles; light blue indicates rates from the 1994 50th to 74th percentiles; and white indicates States with rates below the median 1994 admission rate (i.e., 20 admissions per 100,000 population aged 12 or older). Crosshatching indicates States for which data were incomplete or not submitted for a given year.

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, 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:
http://webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/SAMHDA-SERIES/00056.xml

Heroin Admissions per 100,000 Aged 12 or Older Percent Change
1993 1996 1999 1993-1999
United States 94.7 102.4 105.1 11
Indiana 7.5 6.9 43.3 476
Idaho 6.4 11.1 31.7 393
Delaware 87.5 143.0 346.0 296
Maine 9.3 64.2 33.0 256
Vermont 13.5 15.4 42.4 215
Utah 31.1 78.0 93.2 200
Missouri 14.7 21.6 42.1 186
Louisiana 3.2 3.7 9.0 182
New Hampshire 6.2 11.1 17.2 179
Wyoming 1.6 n/a 4.2 169
Wisconsin 1.0 1.2 2.4 136
Oregon 75.3 173.8 175.0 132
Rhode Island 259.9 449.6 581.7 124
Minnesota 11.4 16.8 24.9 118
Alabama 2.6 2.3 5.4 108
n/a:  Data not available

Source: 1999 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).

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