CEWG January 09 Full Report - National Institute on Drug Abuse

Section II. Highlights and Summary of Key Findings and Emerging Drug Issues From the <strong>January</strong> <strong>CEWG</strong> Meeting
reported that cocaine deaths and unweighted
DAWN ED reports continued to dominate
drug abuse indicators, while treatment admissions
decreased slightly. The cocaine poisoning
death rate in Albuquerque was the highest of
all drugs reported, while Miami/Dade County
had the highest proportion of cocaine-related
deaths, primary cocaine treatment admissions,
and crime lab cases in Florida. However,
both cocaine-related treatment admissions
and cocaine-related deaths were reported as
declining in the first half of 2008 in Florida
and in Miami/Dade and Ft. Lauderdale/Broward
Counties, reversing previously reported
increases. These two South Florida counties
nevertheless have the highest percentage of
indicators of cocaine-related consequences in
the State and across all <strong>CEWG</strong> reporting areas.
• Shifts in the race/ethnicity and gender of primary
cocaine treatment admissions were reported in
several <strong>CEWG</strong> areas. The Boston area representative
reported an increase in female primary
cocaine treatment admissions. Several
area representatives noted that some treatment
clients may be switching from methamphetamine
to cocaine. Evidence of a shift to higher
percentages of Hispanics and/or Whites among
cocaine treatment admissions was reported by
representatives from Texas, Atlanta, and Philadelphia.
For example, the Atlanta area member
reported that while a majority of cocaine treatment
admissions were still African American,
there continued to be an increase in White
cocaine treatment admissions, and Hispanic
treatment admissions more than doubled in the
first half of 2008, compared with previous periods.
The Philadelphia representative reported a
decline in African-American cocaine treatment
admissions, accompanied by increases in White
admissions.
• Treatment admissions data for the first half of
2008 revealed that treatment admissions for
primary cocaine/crack, as a percentage of total
drug treatment admissions, including primary
alcohol admissions, ranked first in frequency
in 2 of 21 reporting <strong>CEWG</strong> areas: Miami/Dade
County and Philadelphia (table 2).
• Cocaine was the drug most frequently identified
by forensic laboratories in 13 of 22 reporting
<strong>CEWG</strong> areas. Based on forensic laboratory
analysis of drug items identified in the first half
of 2008, cocaine/crack ranked first in four of
five areas in the southern region (Miami/Dade
County, Baltimore City, Atlanta, and Washington,
DC), two of three areas in the northeastern
region (New York City and Philadelphia), and
six of nine areas in the western region (Albuquerque,
San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles,
Denver, and Texas). Cocaine also ranked first in
one of the five <strong>CEWG</strong> areas in the midwestern
region, Minneapolis/St. Paul, in frequency of
drug items identified (section II, table 1; appendix
table 2).
Heroin
• Heroin abuse indicators increased in a number
of areas after stability or slight declines
for several prior reporting periods. However,
the upward trend did not follow regional patterns.
Heroin abuse indicators have increased in
Miami/Dade County, Atlanta, St. Louis, Detroit,
and the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
• Heroin treatment admissions were reported
as having increased in the current reporting
period in Cincinnati, San Francisco, Detroit, San
Diego, Phoenix, and Hawai‘i (reversing a previous
downward movement in heroin indicators
in that State). Heroin treatment admissions for
Los Angeles have been stable since 2005.
• Drug overdose deaths involving heroin (or
much less often morphine), rose in San Diego
in 2007, compared with 2006 (figure 2).
• Heroin indicators remained high and stable in:
Boston; Chicago; Maryland; Washington, DC;
New Mexico; Philadelphia; and New York City
(although treatment admissions declined in the
latter area in the first half of 2008).
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, <strong>January</strong> 20<strong>09</strong> 9