4087.0: Tuesday, October 23, 2001 - Board 2

Abstract #23952

Drug abuse trends across the United States are generally stable, but heroin and "club drug" problems continue to increase: Current findings of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG)

Marcia Meth, MA, CEWG, Johnson, Bassin & Shaw, Inc, 8630 Fenton Street, 12th Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 301-495-1080, mmeth@jbs1.com, Nicholas J. Kozel, MS, Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5153, Bethesda, MD 29892-9589, and Rebecca Chalmers, MFA, CEWG, Johnson, Bassin & Shaw, Inc., 2730 Windwood Drive, #101, Ann Arbor, MI 48105.

The CEWG's 49th meeting (San Francisco, December 2000) yielded several noteworthy findings since the previous 6-month period: (1) Most cocaine abuse indicators suggest declining or stable trends, with some isolated reports of resurgence. (2) Heroin indicators continue to rise or remain stable at elevated levels. Young initiates continue to shift from snorting to injecting. Injection predominates as route of administration among treatment admissions in most cities; even in cities where snorting predominates, such as New York and Newark, injecting is increasing. (3) Marijuana indicators are mixed; many show stability at elevated levels. (4) Methamphetamine is rebounding slightly in different parts of the country. (5) "Club drugs," particularly "ecstasy" (MDMA, methylenedioxymethamphetamine), dominate as the latest emerging problem. (6) Prescription drug abuse has been increasing in some parts of the country.

See www.nida/nih.gov

Learning Objectives: Participants will: Gain a broad snapshot of drug abuse patterns across 21 U.S. metropolitan areas and selected foreign countries; Track emerging drug problems as they move from city to city and country to country; Discern short-term and long-term changes in specific drugs of abuse, characteristics of vulnerable populations, and social and health consequences of drug abuse; Find potential ways to link epidemiologic and ethnographic information with preventive intervention, treatment, and other public health actions and research decisions.

Keywords: Drug Use Review, NIDA

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: National Institute on Drug Abuse
Disclosure not received
Relationship: Not Received.

Handout (.pdf format, 634.3 kb)

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The 129th Annual Meeting of APHA