NCJ Number
153440
Date Published
1992
Length
30 pages
Annotation
Data from 91 adult male arrestees and 8 adult female arrestees in Coos County (Oreg.) during one quarter of fiscal year 1991-92 formed the basis of an analysis of drug use among these arrestees.
Abstract
Results revealed that the incidence of positive drug tests increased from 26 percent of the last sample to 29 percent of this sample. Marijuana was the dominant drug; more than 23 percent of the specimens were positive for marijuana. Three percent were positive for cocaine, 3 percent were positive for valium, and 2 percent were positive for amphetamines. Amphetamine use has changed dramatically over the past 2 years; nearly 19 percent of the samples from the fall of 1990 and spring of 1991 tested positive for amphetamine use. However, the urinalysis may be missing one of the most important drugs being used among Coos County arrestees. According to self-reports, 68 percent used alcohol within the month and 58 percent used it within the last 3 days. In addition, about 9 percent reported having injected drugs in the last 6 months. Findings also indicated that Coos County offenders are somewhat more likely to report the use of injection as a means of taking drugs than Multnomah County offenders and report more lifetime experience with a greater variety of drugs than do Multnomah County arrestees. Figures and tables