NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

In 2003, heroin was the primary substance of abuse for
41.9 percent of treatment admissions, a steady increase
from 2000 (exhibit 3a). Of the 2,023 primary heroin
admissions in 2003, approximately 72 percent were
male and 96 percent were Black (exhibit 3b). More
than three-quarters (84 percent) were age 36 to 55.
As with cocaine, reports from the DC Pretrial Services
Agency indicate that the percentage of adult arrestees
testing positive for opiates has remained about the
same since 2001 (exhibit 4a). Ten percent of adult
arrestees tested positive for opiates in 2003 and in the
first 8 months of 2004. Juvenile arrestees were not
tested for opiates during this time (exhibit 4b).
Other Opiates/Narcotics
Unweighted data accessed from DAWN Live! for
2004 show that there were 989 ED reports involving
narcotic analgesics. Of these 989 reports, oxycodone/combinations
accounted for 39 (4 percent)
cases, methadone accounted for 201 (20 percent), and
hydrocodone/combinations accounted for 155 (16
percent). Nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of narcotic
analgesic cases were for adverse reactions, 22 percent
were for overmedication, and 16 percent were for
patients seeking detoxification. Approximately onethird
(32 percent) were designated “other.” One-half
of these patients were male; 24 percent were Black
and 65 percent were White. Nearly two-thirds (65
percent) were age 35 or older.
Twenty-six deaths involving narcotic analgesics were
reported in 2002 (exhibit 2). This is a substantial increase
from the 6 in 2001 and from the 15–22 reported
in the prior 3 years. The number of deaths
involving methadone in the DC metropolitan area
increased from 15 in 2001 to 18 in 2002. Two of the
2002 deaths occurred in DC.
Other opiates were the primary substance of abuse
among 0.3 percent of the 4,832 treatment admissions
in 2003 (exhibit 3a). This percentage has remained
about the same since 2000.
Criminal justice and public health contacts indicate
that OxyContin abuse is low and scattered, but one
contact described it in mid-2003 as emergent in the
economically depressed areas surrounding the District.
Several high-profile cases were conducted in
Northern Virginia. Prescription medications like
OxyContin are available at street markets and are
also obtained through doctor shopping by organized
groups, prescription fraud, and improper prescribing
practices. According to the MPD, OxyContin available
at street markets in northeast DC sells for less
than pills sold in the surrounding suburbs ($0.50 per
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EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—Washington, DC
milligram vs. $1 per milligram in 2003). Oxycodone
and hydrocodone combined accounted for less than 1
percent of analyzed drug items reported to NFLIS.
Marijuana
Marijuana is widely used in the District, as it is in
many other jurisdictions. Commercial-grade and
high-grade marijuana are available for wide-ranging,
but relatively stable, prices. Most of the marijuana is
transported into the District via package delivery services
by Mexican and Jamaican trafficking organizations,
according to the most recent NDIC and HIDTA
threat assessments. Marijuana is most often smoked
in blunts or joints, which can be combined with rocks
of cocaine or dipped in liquid PCP. Popular types of
marijuana in the District and Maryland suburbs include
“chronic,” “kind bud,” “purple haze,” “blueberry,”
and “orange tulip.” All of these types are reputed
to have high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC). The NDIC reported that commercial grade
marijuana sold for $1,800 per pound and Hydro sold
for $5,000 per pound during the first 6 months of
2004. Joints sold for $5 to $10 during this time.
NFLIS data for Federal FY 2004 show that approximately
34.8 percent of analyzed drug items tested
positive for marijuana, making marijuana the second
most frequently found drug.
In the data accessed from DAWN Live! for 2004,
there were 1,210 ED reports involving marijuana
(exhibit 1b). More than two-thirds (68 percent) of
these reports involved patients who were male; 51
percent were Black and 35 percent were White.
Twenty-nine percent involved patients age 18–24, 23
percent were patients age 25–34, and 30 percent were
those age 35 and older. Eighteen percent involved
patients age 12–17. Twelve percent of the cases involved
patients seeking detoxification, and 3 percent
resulted from suicide attempts. The majority of the
cases (85 percent) were designated “other.”
Marijuana in combination with other drug(s) was
involved in one death in the District in 2001 and one
in 2000 (exhibit 2). No marijuana-involved deaths
were reported in 2002.
Marijuana was the primary substance of abuse for 7.0
percent of the 2003 treatment admissions, compared
with 6.4 percent in 2001 and 8.0 percent in 2000 (exhibit
3a). More than three-quarters of the 336 primary
marijuana admissions in 2003 were male, and 87.8
percent were Black (exhibit 3b). Approximately onethird
(32.7 percent) of these admissions were age 12
to 17, and more than one-quarter (28.6 percent) were
age 18 to 25.
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005