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Drug Abuse Trends in Seattle-King County, Jan - June 2007
A recent report of drug trends in Seattle and King County shows no major changes for the first half of 2007 compared to prior years, though the small numbers preclude detailed trend analyses.
Highlights include:
- Prescription type opiates, heroin and cocaine continue to have substantial impacts on morbidity and mortality.
- Buprenorphine, a prescription-type opiate used for pain and increasingly for opiate substitution drug treatment, was identified for the first time in a poly-drug caused death involving alcohol and several prescription sedative medications. It is important for patients and physicians to be mindful of the potential danger of combining buprenorphine with other central nervous system depressants.
- Methamphetamine indicators appear to be leveling off in recent years with most negative health indicators at levels generally lower than for cocaine, heroin and prescription-type opiates.
- Marijuana use and local growing operations continue to be common.
- MDMA/Ecstasy negative health indicators remain low, but law enforcement data indicate a substantial volume of MDMA moving across the Canadian border through Washington State with final destinations throughout the U.S.
The report by Caleb Banta-Green and others for NIDA's Community Epidemiology Work Group is on the ADAI website: http//depts.washington.edu/adai/pubs/tr/cewg/CEWG_Seattle_Jan2008.pdf
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Trends in WA State Drug, Alcohol, Tobacco Use, 2007
Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drug Abuse Trends in Washington State is published annually by the Washington State Division of Alcohol & Substance Abuse, and can be used to measure progress in the state's effort to prevent and treat substance abuse. The 2007 Trends Report contains information about the economic costs of substance abuse, prevalence and trends, impacts of substance abuse, the effectiveness of prevention and treatment, and policy issues confronting the state.
Among the trends reported in 2007:
- Costs related to alcohol abuse in Washington in 2005 were almost 20 times higher than the revenues received from state alcohol taxes;
- Almost one fifth of of 10th & 12th graders reported being drunk or high at school in the past year, and by 12th grade, almost 1 out of 5 is already a problem drinker;
- More than 1 in 10 Washington 10th & 12th graders used prescription pain medications to get high in the past 30 days;
- The drug induced-death rate is increasing rapidly, and the number of drug-caused deaths in Seattle-King County in which prescription-type opiates are involved has increased seven-fold in a decade. The number of deaths involving cocaine has doubled since 2001.
But there is some good news to report:
- Smoking prevalence among adults is on the decline;
- Deferred prosecution, including 2 years of chemical dependency treatment, results in reduced DUI recidivism;
- The number of reported methamphetamine labs and dump sites in Washington has fallen dramatically.
The annual Trends Report makes it possible to examine data for new and changing trends, which can mark the success or failure of a recent legislative effort, a new intervention or change in public health practices, or a change in behavior. They may point the way toward increased need for surveillance, research and analysis, or reorientation in the delivery of public services. The Trends Report can be viewed on the DASA website: www1.dshs.wa.gov/dasa/services/OPPLR/2007trendsrpt.shtml
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New Journals in the ADAI Library
These journal issues were received recently by the ADAI Library. Click on links to connect to tables of contents.
Addiction Research & Theory 15(6)
Addictive Behaviors 33(3)
Drugs: Education, Prevention, & Policy 14(6)
Journal of Maintenance in the Addictions 3(2/3/4)
Journal of Substance Use 12(6)
Journal of Teaching in the Addictions 5(2)
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