NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

cannabis, nearly double the proportion of methamphetamine
items (exhibit 2).
Primary marijuana abuse accounted for nearly onefourth
(23.8 percent) of treatment admissions (excluding
alcohol) in 2004, changing only slightly from
the previous 3 years (exhibit 2).
In the DAWN Live! System, there were 313 unweighted
marijuana reports in the first half of 2004;
these represented 22.1 percent of the illicit drug reports.
In the last 6 months of 2004, an ounce of marijuana
cost $60–$100 retail (exhibit 6).
Club Drugs
There were few indicators of club drugs in recent
data sources. In FY 2004, 61 methylenedioxymethamphetamine
(MDMA) and methylenedioxyamphetamine
(MDA) items were reported by police forensic
labs, accounting for 0.4 percent of all drug
items analyzed (exhibit 2). Twenty phencyclidine
(PCP) items were reported, representing 0.1 percent
of the total items. The retail price of MDMA per tablet
was $15–$30 in the last half of 2004 (exhibit 6).
Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepine-type drugs accounted for 1.6 percent
(n=249) of the drug items analyzed by forensic labs
in 2004 (exhibit 2). Of the 249 items, 36.5 percent
were diazepam items, 20.1 percent were alprazolam,
and 8.8 percent were lorazepam.
Forty-one percent of the drugs of misuse in ED unweighted
reports in the first half of 2004 were benzodiazepine
reports.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES RELATED TO DRUG ABUSE
HIV/AIDS
Since 1981 when the first AIDS cases in San Diego
County were diagnosed, there have been 12,034
AIDS cases reported for the county. Since 1999, the
number of annual AIDS cases reported in San Diego
has been in the mid-400 range. There were 538 cases
EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—San Diego County, California
reported in 2003. In 2003, AIDS cases were 43 percent
White, 17 percent were African-American, and
37 percent were Hispanic. Eighty percent of male San
Diego AIDS cases were infected through male-tomale
sex. For San Diego females, heterosexual contact
was the most common mode of transmission.
From July 1, 2002, to December 31, 2003, a total of
4,155 HIV cases were reported for San Diego County.
Of these, 89 percent were male, 62 percent were
White, 43 percent were age 30–39, and 72 percent
were infected by male-to-male sex.
Hepatitis B and C Virus
In San Diego, 849 cases of chronic hepatitis B and 18
cases of acute hepatitis B (HBV) were reported in
2003. The rates per 100,000 population for chronic
and acute HBV were 28.7 and 0.6, respectively,
down significantly from the respective 1995 rates of
35.9 and 2.1.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV), however, has shown different
trends in San Diego. In 2003, there were 2,725
reported HCV cases in San Diego, more than double
the 1,101 cases reported in 1995. The respective rates
per 100,000 were 92.0 in 2003 as compared with 40.5
in 1995.
Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases
In 2003, there were 109 infectious syphilis cases and
8 congenital syphilis cases, compared with 106 and
36, respectively in 1993. Forty-four percent of the
2003 syphilis cases were age 35–44, 96 percent were
male, 69 percent were White, and 72 percent resided
in the central region of San Diego County.
The number of cases of gonorrhea declined from
3,579 in 1993 to 1,972 in 2003, while the number of
chlamydia cases increased from 1993 to 2001 (from
7,720 to 10,249 cases). Twenty-six percent of the
gonorrhea cases were age 20–24, 63 percent were
male, 40 percent were White, and 41 percent lived in
the central region of San Diego County. Of the 2003
chlamydia cases, 39 percent were age 20–24, 74 percent
were female, 44 percent were Hispanic, and 28
percent lived in the central region of San Diego
County.
For inquiries concerning this report, please contact Michael Ann Haight, Silvergate Group (for the County of San Diego, Alcohol and Drug
Services), Phone: 619-920-6311, E-mail: michaelhaight@cox.net.
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005 223