NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

methamphetamine, representing 76.5 deaths per
1,000,000 for the island of O'ahu.
Crystal methamphetamine prices remained stable in
2004. The drug is sold in the islands as "clear" (a
clear, white form) or "wash" (a brownish, less processed
form). Prices for ice vary widely according to
these two categories and availability, as illustrated by
prices on O'ahu: $50 (wash) or $75 (clear) per 0.25
gram; $200–$300 (wash) or $600–$900 (clear) per
gram; $450–$600 (wash) or $1,000–$2,000 (clear)
per one-quarter ounce; and $2,200–$3,000 (wash) per
ounce.
HPD methamphetamine case data peaked at 984 in
1995 (exhibit 9). The annual number of cases subsequently
declined annually, and they totaled 616 in
2002 and 964 in 2003. However, in 2004, a total of
8.083 cases were reported. Minimal data are available
from the neighbor islands, but they also show an increase
in cases.
NFLIS data for FY 2003 and FY 2004 show that
methamphetamine was the most often seized substance,
with 62 percent of the FY 2003 and 59 percent
of the FY 2004 samples testing positive for
methamphetamine. The final piece of information on
Hawai'i’s leading drug is from the ADAM site.
Weighted data on adult male arrestees for 2001,
2002, and 2003 show that the drug most frequently
found in the urines of these arrestees was amphetamines,
almost entirely methamphetamine (exhibit
10). The weighted 2003 data show that 46.3 percent
tested positive for amphetamines/methamphetamine
in the first quarter, 38.0 percent were positive in the
second quarter, and 46.0 percent were positive for
amphetamines in the third quarter.
Depressants
Barbiturates, sedatives, and sedatives/hypnotics are
combined into this category. Few data were provided
about these drugs in the islands.
ADAD maintains three categories under this heading:
benzodiazepines, other tranquilizers, and barbiturates.
Treatment admissions for these drugs are minimal in
terms of impact on the system. Annually, the numbers
admitted to treatment for these drugs total less
than 10.
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EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—Honolulu, Hawai'i
The number of ME mentions for depressants has remained
stable for several years at five or less.
The HPD have not reported depressant case data
since 1991. Neighbor island police reported fewer
than 15 cases per year since 1996.
Prices remain stable at $3–$20 per unit for barbiturates
and $2–$3 per pill for secobarbital (Seconal or
"reds").
Hallucinogens
Hallucinogen treatment admissions total less than
five per year. No hallucinogen ME mentions have
been reported since the beginning of data collection.
Prices for lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) were $4–
$6 per "hit" and $225–$275 per 100 dosage unit
sheets (a "page") in this reporting period.
No hallucinogen case data were generated for 2002.
UCR Data
The Uniform Crime Report has often been described
as the most reliable database in the criminal justice
area. Unfortunately, it has also been described as
being none too valid in terms of the definitions used
to collect the data. For Community Epidemiology
Work Groups, it is yet another data set that is routinely
collected by others and is in the public domain.
Hawai'i produces data from the UCR via an Attorney
General’s Web site, with data from 1975 to the present
easily accessible to outside users. This short
analysis uses the UCR data to suggest that even
greater utility might be made with them if the researchers
were given access to the full data set, which
contains the arrest-specific information, as well as
more demographic and criminal justice information
on the subjects reported on in the UCR.
For Honolulu, the following chart shows that violent
crimes are not and have never been much of a problem.
It also shows that while having several peaks
and troughs, property crime is lower now than it was
in the mid-1990s and early 1980s. The data included
in these indexes are murders, rapes, robberies, assaults,
burglaries, larceny thefts, motor vehicle thefts,
and arson.
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005