The Community Epidemiology Work Group, led by ADAI research scientist Caleb Banta-Green, today released the 2008 drug trends report for Seattle-King County. Key findings include:
- Heroin continues to be a problem locally, though deaths related to heroin use in 2008 declined slightly to 59 out of 256 total drug-caused deaths;
- 24% of decedents were under age 30, a figure similar to that in 2007 and up slightly from the previous seven years;
- Heroin treatment admissions were second only to cocaine among illegal drugs for adults, with an increase in the number (240) and proportion (13%) of young adults ages 18 to 25, compared with numbers from a decade ago;
- At the same time, both the number (401) and proportion (22%) of treatment admissions for individuals over age 50 doubled from 1999 through 2008.
