NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

In the NIHU Study, 20 percent of participants reported
ever trying amphetamine or methamphetamine, and
only 6 percent reported using it in the 6 months prior to
the interview. Among injectors in the Family Process
study, 19 percent of participants reported amphetamine
use, and 9 percent used it in the previous 12 months.
Methylphenidate (Ritalin) remained readily available
in some South Side neighborhoods, where it could be
purchased for injection, either alone or in combination
with heroin. Pills, often referred to as “beans”
in these areas, are sold for $1.50 to $5.00 each, depending
on the quantity being purchased. The cost of
Ritalin on the West Side of Chicago was reported to
be $10 per pill. Some study participants report that
Ritalin was readily available in their schools and that
students knew which students had been prescribed
Ritalin and often requested the drug from them.
Methamphetamine prices have not changed since June
2003, when it was reported that bags of methamphetamine
sold for $20. Most drug users reported that
the drug remained difficult to obtain. However, police
and street reports suggest that some Mexico-based drug
dealers are attempting to introduce methamphetamine
for local consumption by offering free samples, which
may eventually change the low and stable trend of
methamphetamine use in Chicago. There was one street
report of methamphetamine being sold at a South Side
drug market. According to the NDIC 2003 report,
methamphetamine cost $1,000–$1,300 per ounce and
$80–$100 per gram.
Depressants
Three patterns of depressant-in-combination use have
been common in Chicago and throughout Illinois:
• Depressants are taken with narcotics to potentiate
the effect of opiates. Pharmaceutical depressants
are frequently combined with heroin.
• Depressants are taken with stimulants to moderate
the undesirable side effects of chronic
stimulant abuse. Chronic cocaine and speed
abusers often take depressants along with stimulants,
or when concluding “runs,” to help induce
sleep and to reduce the craving for more stimulants
(especially in the case of cocaine).
• Alcohol, also a central nervous system depressant,
is taken with pharmaceutical depressants
(such as hypnotics or tranquilizers). The practice
of mixing alcohol with other depressants may
indicate illicit pharmaceutical depressant use.
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EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—Chicago
The number of barbiturate ED mentions totaled 404
in 2002, compared with the peak of 525 mentions in
1997.
Benzodiazepine ED mentions increased significantly
between 1995 (n=1,959) and 2002 (2,776), a 42percent
change. Both ED mentions and ethnographic
reports indicate that alprazolam appears to be the
benzodiazepine most readily available on the street,
closely followed by clonazepam and lorazepam, with
variations in different areas of the city.
Benzodiazepine-related calls to the Illinois Poison
Center in Chicago have repeatedly represented nearly
one-half of all substance misuse calls between 2001
and 2003. On average, approximately 500 calls annually
were reported during this time period.
Treatment data for other opioids, tranquilizers, and
sedatives/hypnotics indicate that depressants are not
the primary drugs of choice for most users. According
to DASA, there were 2,399 treatment episodes in
publicly funded programs in Illinois in FY 2003.
Primary opioid, tranquilizer, and sedative/hypnotics
users represented only about 2 percent of all treatment
episodes, excluding alcohol.
Lifetime use of tranquilizers or barbiturates without a
prescription (Valium, Elavil, Ativan, Xanax) was
reported by 31 percent of young non-injecting heroin
users. Thirteen percent reported using in the past 30
days. Young injectors reported moderate use of barbiturates.
In the Family Process study, 43 percent
reported ever using barbiturates, and 30 percent used
them during the previous 12 months.
The 2002 APORS data indicate that the rate of infants
testing positive for barbiturates has been decreasing
since 2000. In 2002, the rate of children exposed
to barbiturates at birth was 0.4 per 10,000 live
births, compared with 0.8 per 10,000 in 2001 and 1.4
per 10,000 in 2000.
No updated prices for depressants were available. As
stated in past Chicago CEWG reports, alprazolam
typically sells for $2–$3 for 0.5-milligram tablets and
$5–$10 for 1-milligram tablets.
Hallucinogens
Recent declines in lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)
ED mentions suggest a downward trend in LSD use
in Chicago. Between 1995 and 2002, LSD ED mentions
declined by 92 percent. The rate of LSD ED
mentions per 100,000 population was less than 1 in
2002 for the first time in the prior 7 years
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005