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
• Continuing increases in narcotic analgesic
abuse indicators were reported in Miami, Chicago,
Denver, Colorado, Phoenix, Los Angeles,
Seattle, and New Mexico. In Chicago, for
example, hydrocodone forensic laboratory drug
items identified increased from 49 percent of all
such drug items in 2007, to 58 percent in the
first half of 2008.
• The Maine representative reported a continuing
problem with prescription drugs, with indicators
for oxycodone and methadone at high
levels and increasing. Deaths in Maine from
oxycodone were reported as increasing, while
methadone-induced deaths were stable but still
high. Law enforcement seizures for both oxycodone
and methadone increased in the reporting
period.
• In the current reporting period, Ft. Lauderdale/
Broward County led the nation in the amount
of oxycodone directly provided by dispensing
practitioners, based on DEA ARCOS data.
• Retail sales of oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine,
and methadone have risen sharply in the
Phoenix area, where sales of oxycodone, morphine,
and methadone were higher than in the
Nation as a whole. Trends in retail sales of oxycodone
in Arizona and the United States from
the first quarter of 1997 through the third quarter
of 2006 are shown in figure 5.
• Death rates from narcotic analgesics, mainly
attributed to accidental overdoses, increased
in Albuquerque, and higher death rates were
reported in New Mexico counties bordering
Mexico than in nonborder counties, based on
analyses by the area representative. In Maryland,
narcotics were the most frequently identified
drugs in drug abuse deaths in 2007.
• Abuse of opioid narcotics (oxycodone and
hydrocodone) was noted by the Cincinnati area
representative as an increasing drug issue in
that area, while the Texas <strong>CEWG</strong> member also
reported a continuing and increasing problem
with hydrocodone.
Figure 5.
Oxycodone in Grams Distributed per 100,000 Population, Arizona and the United States, in
Quarters of the Year: 1997–2006
8,000
7,000
6,000
Arizona
United States
5,343
6,<strong>09</strong>5
6,973
Grams
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
645
342
796
1Q-97
3Q-97
524
992
784
1Q-98
3Q-98
1Q-99
1,445
1,848
1,179
4,740
4,056 4,274
3,787
3,511
3,072
2,8<strong>09</strong>
2,239
2,460
2,187
1,582 1,787 1,811
3Q-99
1Q-00
3Q-00
1Q-01
3Q-01
SOURCE: DEA, ARCOS, as reported by James Cunningham at the <strong>January</strong> 20<strong>09</strong> <strong>CEWG</strong> meeting
2,745
2,597 2,612
1Q-02
3Q-02
1Q-03
3Q-03
1Q-04
3Q-04
1Q-05
3Q-05
4,295
3,514
3,137
1Q-06
3Q-06
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, <strong>January</strong> 20<strong>09</strong> 13