NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

eports (exhibit 2), while African-Americans accounted
for 5.1 percent. Methamphetamine reports
among patients between the ages of 25 and 54 totaled
267 (60 percent of all methamphetamine ED reports);
ED reports were the highest among individuals between
35 and 44 years old.
There were 279 unweighted ED amphetamine reports
in the Atlanta metropolitan area from January through
October 2004 (exhibit 1). The gap between male and
female ED reports for amphetamines was narrow (exhibit
2), with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2:1. Nearly
three out of four ED reports involved Whites, while
African-Americans represented 7 percent of ED amphetamine
reports.
The proportion of treatment admissions in metropolitan
and non-metropolitan areas for methamphetamine
continues to rise faster than for any other classification
of drug. For the first 6 months of 2004, more
than 8 percent of public treatment admissions reported
methamphetamine as the primary drug of
choice, compared to 5.1 percent in 2003 and 3.1 percent
in 2002. The proportion of admissions for
methamphetamine in non-metropolitan Atlanta was
nearly 14 percent, the highest percentage ever reported.
The number of women in metropolitan Atlanta
who reported to treatment for methamphetamine-related
causes increased significantly in 2004
and represented more than 55 percent of all admissions.
In treatment centers outside of metropolitan
Atlanta, the proportion of women entering treatment
(56 percent) remained nearly identical to 2003. Most
users were White; in fact, Whites accounted for more
than 95 percent of treatment admissions in metropolitan
Atlanta during the first 6 months of 2004. Nevertheless,
the proportions of African-American and
Hispanic users are growing. Regardless of demographic
area, more than 77 percent of statewide
treatment admissions were individuals older than 35.
Metropolitan Atlanta treatment admissions were
more likely than non-metropolitan admissions (24 vs.
13 percent) to choose inhaling as the preferred route
of administration. Non-metropolitan Atlanta treatment
admissions were more likely to smoke (53 vs.
45 percent) or inject (15 vs. 13 percent) than metropolitan
Atlanta treatment admissions.
According to the DEA and HIDTA, methamphetamine
popularity continues to rise, in part because of
its low price and availability. In July 2004, methamphetamine
typically sold for $110 per gram, $1,316
per ounce, and $8,250 per pound.
Law enforcement officials report that methamphetamine
has emerged as the primary drug threat in suburban
communities neighboring Fulton and DeKalb
12
EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—Atlanta
Counties. The Atlanta HIDTA task force found that
more than 68 percent of participating law enforcement
agencies identified methamphetamine as posing
the greatest threat to their areas. Methamphetamine
accounted for more than 27 percent of NFLIS tests of
seized drugs from October 2003 through September
2004, ranking second after cocaine (exhibit 4).
Methamphetamine had accounted for about 23 percent
of NFLIS tests of seized drugs in 2003, ranking
third after cocaine and marijuana. The HIDTA task
force seized more methamphetamine in 2003 than in
previous years. These seizures in 2003 included 11.3
kilograms of methamphetamine and 8.5 kilograms of
crystal methamphetamine or “ice.” HIDTA investigators
also report an increase among African-
Americans using methamphetamine in Atlanta. Ethnographic
data from Atlanta-area drug research studies
among 18–25-year-olds support this trend.
Depressants
The use of depressants, especially benzodiazepines,
is on the rise in Atlanta. The most commonly abused
benzodiazepine is alprazolam (Xanax). Only a few
people admitted for drug treatment chose benzodiazepines
as their secondary or tertiary drug of choice,
but ME mentions for these drugs continued to increase.
The preliminary numbers of unweighted ED reports
involving depressants in metropolitan Atlanta in the
first 10 months of 2004 were as follows: (a) barbiturates
(n=79); (b) benzodiazepines (878); and (c) miscellaneous
other depressants (828). These ED reports
in 2004 averaged nearly 88 per month, compared
with an average of 67 unweighted ED reports for the
last 6 months of 2003.
The treatment data from publicly funded programs
included depressants such as barbiturates and benzodiazepines
only as secondary and tertiary drug
choices for the first 6 months of 2004. In metropolitan
Atlanta, nearly 1 percent of primary heroin and
methamphetamine users chose benzodiazepines as a
secondary drug choice. These percentages are consistent
with the figures from the previous 3 years.
The DEA considers benzodiazepines and other prescription
depressants to be a minor threat in Georgia.
The pills are widely available on the street, but their
abuse does not seem to have reached the levels of
oxycodone and hydrocodone abuse. According to the
NDIC and DEA Georgia Threat Assessment (April
2003), local dealers tend to work independently and
typically sell to “acquaintances and established customers.”
These primarily White dealers and abusers
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005