NCJ Number
161721
Date Published
June 1996
Length
53 pages
Annotation
Rates of drug use among adult male and female arrestees and among juvenile arrestees and detainees are described, based on a survey of 20,737 adult male booked arrestees at 23 metropolitan sites, 8,065 adult female arrestees at 21 sites, and 4,293 juvenile male arrestees and detainees at 12 sites.
Abstract
The analysis focused on trends in the use of marijuana, cocaine, and marijuana. Methamphetamine use was the focus of a special study at eight sites. Results revealed that cocaine use among adult male arrestees continued to decline, whereas marijuana use continued to escalate. Cocaine remains the main drug among adult male arrestees, although their increased use of marijuana has closed the gap in rates of use between the two drugs. Seven sites reported rates of marijuana use that were higher than those for cocaine use. At every site, a majority of male arrestees tested positive for at least 1 of 10 drugs. All but one site reported overall rates of drug use of 50 percent or more among female arrestees. At every site, marijuana use was greater than cocaine use among juveniles, sometimes by a factor of 10. Overall, approximately 6 percent of all arrestees tested positive for methamphetamine, compared to 36 percent for cocaine, 30 percent for marijuana, 7 percent for opiates, and about 2 percent for PCP. Figures, tables, and data for each site