1 - National Criminal Justice Reference Service

County Repons: San Diego, California
in methamphetamine admissions, from 2 to 4 percent for African Americans and 8 to 12 percent
for Hispanics over the five-year period.
When asked about educational attainment, 59 percent of 1991 meth admissions reported that they
had completed high school. This percentage represents an increase from 1990, when 55 percent
reported that they had at least a high school education. Unlike cocaine and heroin admissions,
less than half of all methamphetamine admissions report having had prior drug treatment,
although that percent has grown over time. In 1991, 11 percent of clients entered within the
first three years of treatment, a continuation of the trend established over the prior three years,
which showed steady declines in new users. This trend may indicate a growing treatment
population of long-term, hard-core meth users.
In 1991, the methamphetamine population was referred by the criminal justice system in about
the same proportions as the cocaine and heroin population (21 percent). Like those clients, the
percent reporting CIS-referral has grown over the five year period, from 14 percent in 1987 to
a high of 25 percent in 1990. Increasing involvement in the CIS is also demonstrated by the
percent of clients who report an arrest history. By 1991, that percentage had increased to 77
percent.
Over time, there have been interesting changes in route of administration. In 1987, inhalation
was the most common mode of use, with 72 percent of clients reporting that they snorted the
drug. By 1991, that percentage had dropped to 58 percent, with a..'l attendant growth in the
percentage of clients who reported that they were smoking meth. The percent of smokers grew
from 1 percent in 1987 to 11 percent in 1991. In San Diego, there is some anecdotal evidence
that powdered meth is smoked using tinfoil and a lighter. However, there have also been reports
that pipes similar to crack pipes are being used with small crystal rocks. There were also
modest increases in the percent of clients who reported injecting meth, from 25 percent to 28
percent. In 1991, 29 percent of meth users reported that marijuana was their second drug of
choice; 24 percent reported also using alcohol, and 27 percent reported that they had no
secondary drugs.
5. Marijuana
Marijuana clients accounted for 6 percent of all 1991 admissions, an increase of2 percent from
the previous 3 years. During the years 1988 to 1990, marijuana clients were very stable at about
4 percent of all admissions, a decrease from 1987 when marijuana represented 7 percent of
admissions.
Demographics for marijuana admissions can be found in Exhibit 6. Since 1988, there has been
a steady increase in the number of marijuana admissions. Recent increases (1990 and 1991) can
be accounted for by the addition of an outpatient program for adolescents, most of whom use
SEWG April 1992 5
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