NCJ Number
201225
Date Published
February 2003
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This report, which is part of an ongoing series published every 6 months as a means of monitoring substance abuse trends in Texas, presents data and information an the use of various types of drugs by both adults and youth for the year 2002, with some data provided for previous years.
Abstract
Data for this report were obtained from 11 sources that provided data on drug price, purity, trafficking, distribution, and supply; drug treatment; drug overdose deaths; emergency room mentions of drug use; drug use by arrestees; youth surveys on substance use; surveys of substance use by adults; drugs identified by laboratory tests; AIDS data; and street outreach reports. Alcohol was found to be the primary drug of abuse in Texas in terms of dependence, deaths, treatment admissions, and arrests. Use among Texas secondary school students between 2000 and 2002 was stable. Crack cocaine was the illicit drug for which 21 percent of adult clients entered treatment. Heroin addicts who entered treatment were primarily injectors, and they were most likely to be Hispanic or Anglo males. Emergency room mentions of heroin in Dallas have declined. Hydrocodone is a much more significant problem in Texas than oxycodone; codeine cough syrup continues to be abused. Seventy-five percent of youths who entered treatment reported marijuana as their primary problem drug. Methamphetamine and amphetamine were widely available and were a problem, particularly in the northern part of the State. Alprazolam (Xanax) mentions were increasing in emergency room and DPS lab reports. Club drug use continues to spread, with those who began using them several years ago now appearing in treatment. Ecstasy cases reported to emergency rooms and treatment admissions continue to increase. The proportions of AIDS cases due to injecting drug use and to heterosexual route of transmission are increasing, as are the proportions of females and persons of color with the disease. 42 exhibits