Methamphetamine:
Number
in
Treatment
Skyrockets
in
Last
Decade,
But
Much
of
Increase
Linked
to
Criminal
Justice
System
6/9/06
The Center for Substance Abuse Research at the University of Maryland reported this week that methamphetamine treatment admissions increased nearly 10-fold between 1992 and 2003. But the increase in treatment is largely driven by referrals from the criminal justice system, where arrested methamphetamine users are given a choice between forced drug treatment and imprisonment. According to the center, which based its findings on the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMSHA) Treatment Episode Data Sets (TEDS) data, the number of people admitted for treatment for meth use increased from 14,570 in 1992 to more than 129,000 in 2003. According to SAMSHA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 1.3 million people used methamphetamine at least once in 2003 and about 583,000 reported using it in the last month. Given those figures, about 10% of people who used meth in 2003 were referred to drug treatment. Looking at those admitting to monthly use -- a population more likely to be developing problems with the popular stimulant -- about 20% were admitted to treatment. In 1992, methamphetamine accounted for 1% of all treatment admissions. It now accounts for 7%. Much of the increase in meth treatment numbers has been driven by the criminal justice system. In 1994, court-ordered treatment accounted for 34% of all admissions; by 2003, that number had increased to 51%. Each year since 2002, more than 50,000 people have been forced into drug treatment for meth by the criminal justice system. At the same time, the percentage of meth users who felt a need to seek treatment has declined. In 1992, 34% of meth treatment admissions were self-referrals; by 2003, that percentage had fallen to 24%. Similar, referrals from substance abuse care providers also declined during that same period, from 9% to 5%. In the past, federal drug warriors have pointed to an increase in admissions for marijuana use as an indicator of a worsening marijuana problem. But as with methamphetamines, treatment referrals for marijuana are largely driven by the criminal justice system and are thus not a good basis for estimating the extent of a drug problem. As the University of Maryland center noted, "[c]aution should be used in utilizing treatment admissions data as an indicator of use or dependence since treatment admissions may also be influenced by changes in law enforcement and sentencing practices as well as changes in legislation which divert drug offenders to treatment."
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