NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Drug Abuse in South Florida: January–June 2004
James N. Hall 1 and Madeline Camejo, Pharm.D. 2
ABSTRACT
Indicators of cocaine abuse remain stable at high
levels, with cocaine’s consequences accounting for
one-half of drug deaths, medical emergencies, and
addiction treatment admissions. Illicit street drugs
dominate problems in Miami-Dade County, while
rates of prescription medication abuse are higher in
Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Heroin and
narcotic prescription analgesics are fueling a major
problem with opiate abuse. Broward and Palm
Beach Counties lead the State in the number of
heroin-related deaths, and both the wholesale and
retail prices of heroin have declined over the past
year. Methadone-related deaths are increasing.
Marijuana is still the most commonly abused drug
among young emergency department patients in
local hospitals. More than one-third of addiction
treatment admissions were for marijuana. The club
drugs, MDMA (or ecstasy) and GHB, continue to
decline in measures of their use and consequences.
New sources and trafficking patterns have increased
the flow of methamphetamine into South
Florida, where the drug commands some of the
highest street prices in the Nation. Prescription benzodiazepines
are second only to alcohol in the number
of substance-related deaths across Florida.
INTRODUCTION
This report addresses drug abuse in Miami-Dade and
Broward Counties, Florida, during the first half of
2004. It includes data on drug-related deaths, medical
emergencies, addiction treatment admissions, and law
enforcement intelligence. Information is presented by
primary substance of abuse, with topics including
cocaine, heroin, other opiates, marijuana, gamma
hydroxybutyrate (GHB), methylendioxymethamphetamine
(MDMA or “ecstasy”), methamphetamine,
and benzodiazepines. While the information is classified
by a single drug or category, the reader should
note an underlying problem of polysubstance abuse
as mentioned throughout this report. Exhibits for the
report follow the narrative text.
Area Description
Located in the extreme southern portion of the Florida
peninsula, Miami-Dade County has a population of
nearly 2.6 million; 56 percent are Hispanic, 21 percent
are Black, 21 percent are White, and 2 percent are
Asian/Pacific Islander. Miami is Dade County’s largest
city, with 360,000 residents. More than 100,000 immigrants
arrive in Florida each year; one-half establish
residency in Miami-Dade County.
Broward County, situated due north of Miami-Dade, is
composed of Ft. Lauderdale plus 28 other municipalities
and an unincorporated area. The county covers
1,197 square miles, including 25 miles of coastline.
According to the 2000 census, the population was
1,649,925. The population is roughly 63 percent White
non-Hispanic, 21 percent Black non-Hispanic, and 17
percent Hispanic.
Broward County is the second most populated county
in Florida and accounts for approximately 10 percent of
Florida’s population. Broward was the top growth
county in Florida in the 1990s and added 367,000 more
people during that decade. Palm Beach County (population
1,154,464) is located due north of Broward
County and is the third most populated county in the
State. Together, the 5.4 million people of these 3 counties
constitute one-third of the State’s 16.3 million
population.
Starting in 2003, these three counties constitute the new
federally designated Metropolitan Statistical Area
(MSA) for South Florida, making it the sixth largest in
the Nation. Previously, the MSA was only Miami-Dade
County. This means that Broward County will now be
included in more national data sets tracking healthrelated
conditions and criminal justice information. One
change is that more local hospitals will become a part
of the national Drug Abuse Warning Network
1
Mr. Hall is the director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Substance Abuse at Nova Southeastern University and is executive director
of Up Front Drug Information Center in Miami, Florida.
2
Dr. Camejo is affiliated with the Memorial Regional Hospital, Hollywood, Florida, and the United Way of Broward County Commission on
Substance Abuse, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005 121