NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

“Crystal” or smokeable methamphetamine has been
shipped by overnight delivery from California for several
years. Mexican drug trafficking organizations
were also mentioned as a source of powdered
methamphetamine in 2003. More recently, active trafficking
from Georgia and North Carolina of highgrade
Mexican-produced crystal methamphetamine
has been observed.
Methamphetamine-related deaths totaled 47 in the
first half of 2004 statewide in Florida, representing a
38-percent increase from the 34 such deaths in the
previous 6 months. Methamphetamine was considered
the cause of death in 10 of the 47 cases in the
first half of 2004. There were also 43 amphetaminerelated
deaths in the first 6 months of 2004 in Florida,
a 26-percent increase over the last half of 2003. Amphetamine
was considered the cause of death in 3 of
the 43 cases in the first half of 2004.
Unweighted data accessed from DAWN Live! show
15 methamphetamine-related ED reports during the
first half of 2004 in Miami-Dade County. There was
only one methamphetamine-related DAWN ED report
for Broward County in the first half of 2004. In
the second half of 2004 as more hospitals joined the
network, there were 13 methamphetamine-related ED
reports in Broward County, and there were 26 such
reports from Miami-Dade County. From January
2003 to December 2004, the unweighted DAWN data
show 95 methamphetamine-related ED reports in
these South Florida EDs; 87 percent of these patients
were males. White, non-Hispanics accounted for 58
percent of the ED patients, Hispanics for 28 percent,
and Blacks for 13 percent. No methamphetamine ED
patients were younger than 18; 29 percent were age
18–24, 48 percent were age 25–34, and 22 percent
were older than 34.
The NFLIS reported the Miami-Dade Crime Lab analyzed
150 methamphetamine exhibits in the 12month
period from October 2003 to September 2004,
representing 1 percent of all substances analyzed. In
the first half of 2004, there were 55 Broward Sheriff’s
Office Crime Lab methamphetamine cases analyzed.
In the last half of 2003, there were 54 such
cases, compared to 36 cases in the first 6 months of
2003. The number of cases has more than doubled
since 2001.
Statewide, the number of clandestine methamphetamine
labs or equipment seizures has risen from 30
cases in fiscal year 2000 (October 1999 to September
2000) to 332 in the fiscal year ending September 30,
2004 (exhibit 8).
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EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
In South Florida, methamphetamine has some of the
highest prices in the nation: $15,000–$20,000 per
pound and $900–$1,200 per ounce. Higher potency
“crystal” methamphetamine sells for $1,800–$2,000
per ounce and $50 per quarter gram.
In 2003, any lifetime methamphetamine use was reported
in results of the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior
Survey by 4.5 percent of high school students in
Broward County (down from 5.6 percent in 2001)
and by 3.8 percent of high school students in Miami-
Dade County (down from 4.8 percent in 2001) (exhibit
6). In Palm Beach County, 7.1 percent of high
school students reported lifetime methamphetamine
use in the same survey. The proportion for the high
school students in all of Florida was 6.4 percent,
compared with 7.6 percent for high school students
nationwide (exhibit 6).
Nationally, the 2004 Monitoring the Future Survey
reported that current methamphetamine use (defined
as any use within the past 30 days) was reported by
0.6 percent of 8th graders, 1.3 percent of 10th graders,
and 2.3 percent of 12th graders. These figures
reflected a 0.6-percent decrease for 8th graders from
the same survey in 2003, a 0.1-percent decrease for
10th graders, and a 0.3-percent decrease for 12th
graders.
Methylphenidate (Ritalin) has also received local and
national media attention as being abused by college
students either orally or crushed and used intranasally.
Hotline calls and student personnel administrators
at local universities confirm the suspected
abuse of methylphenidate.
Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines in general and alprazolam (Xanax)
in particular are a substantial problem. Benzodiazepines
were second only to alcohol in their involvement
in drug-related deaths throughout Florida for the past
several years, and this continued in the first half of
2004. There were 994 benzodiazepine-related deaths
across Florida in the first 6 months of 2004, representing
a 15-percent increase over the 866 such
deaths in the previous 6 months. Of the related deaths
in the first half of 2004, a benzodiazepine was identified
as the cause of death in 233 cases (or 31 percent).
In Miami-Dade County, there were 37 alprazolamrelated
deaths during the first half of 2004, of which 9
(33 percent) were alprazolam induced. Seventy-three
percent of the deaths involved at least one other drug
(exhibit 2). There were also 15 diazepam-related
deaths in Miami-Dade County, of which 2 (13 percent)
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005