Domain: Treatment for Substance Use Disorders
Indicator: Primary Substance Mentioned at Admission to Treatment
Data Source: State and Local Agencies
Time Period: 2015

Download full Cross-Site DataTreatment for Substance Use Disorders

Treatment admissions data provide indicators of the health consequences of drug use and their impact on the treatment system (NIDA 2014). Eleven of the 12 NDEWS Sentinel Community Epidemiologists (SCEs) were able to provide the NDEWS Coordinating Center with 2015 treatment admissions data from their local sources; Atlanta Metro was the only site with no available data on 2015 treatment admissions. Note that the definition of the populations covered by each local treatment data source varies; however, the majority are based on admissions to programs receiving public funds. (See Overview & Limitations of Treatment Admissions Data from Local Sources for site-specific definitions of admissions, catchment areas, drug terms, and data sources.) Primary admissions by drug are compiled as counts and percentages of all admissions.

Highlights

  • Alcohol and heroin were the two most highly ranked primary drugs of use among treatment clients across the 11 NDEWS Sentinel Community Sites (SCS) with available data for 2015 admissions. Alcohol ranked first or second in 10 sites and heroin in 8 sites. (Table 3)
    • The proportion of persons entering treatment that mentioned alcohol as a primary substance ranged from a high of 37.5% in the Denver Metro area to a low of 17.0% in Los Angeles County in 2015. (Figure 3a)
    • Primary heroin admissions ranged from a high of 40.5% in San Francisco to a low of 11.5% in Southeastern Florida (Miami Area). (Figure 3b)
    • In 2015, primary heroin admissions ranked first in 6 NDEWS reporting areas [New York City, Chicago Metro, Wayne County (Detroit Area), King County (Seattle Area), Los Angeles County, and San Francisco] and ranked second in 2 areas [Maine and Philadelphia]. (Table 3)
  • Marijuana was the next most highly ranked primary drug among treatment clients in the 11 NDEWS SCSs with available data for 2015. Marijuana ranked second or third in 7 sites. (Table 3)
    • Primary marijuana admissions ranged from a high of 23.5% in Chicago Metro to a low of 5.7% in San Francisco. (Figure 3c)
  • Primary methamphetamine admissions ranked higher in all 4 western NDEWS sites and 1 southern NDEWS site (Texas) than in the Northeast and Midwest NDEWS sites. (Table 3)
    • Among the 4 NDEWS sites where primary methamphetamine admissions ranked among top 4 drugs, the proportion of persons entering treatment that mentioned methamphetamine as a primary substance ranged from 10.2% in King County (Seattle Area) to a high of 25.3% in Los Angeles County. (Figure 3d)
    • Among the 6 NDEWS sites where it ranked low, less than 1.0% of treatment admissions in each of the sites mentioned methamphetamine as a primary drug. (Figure 3d)
  • The proportion of treatment admissions that mentioned cocaine/crack as a primary drug of use ranged from a high of 14.1% in Philadelphia to a low of 2.5% in Maine (Figure 3e) and ranked between 3rd and 6th in the 11 NDEWS SCSs with available data for 2015 admissions. (Table 3)
  • The proportion of treatment admissions that mentioned prescription opioids as a primary drug of use ranged from a high of 24.3% in Maine to a low of 1.0% in Chicago Metro (Figure 3f) and ranked between 3rd and 6th in the 11 NDEWS SCSs with available data for 2015 admissions. (Table 3)
  • Primary benzodiazepine admissions ranked between 6th and 8th in all 11 NDEWS sites with available data. (Table 3) The proportion of treatment admissions that mentioned benzodiazepines as a primary drug of use was 2% or less in the 11 NDEWS SCSs with available data for 2015 admissions (data not shown).
  • Data on primary admissions for MDMA were reported by 9 NDEWS SCEs and was ranked 8th or higher among all 9 NDEWS sites. (Table 3) The proportion of treatment admissions that mentioned MDMA as a primary drug of use was less than 1% in the 9 NDEWS SCSs with available data for 2015 MDMA admissions (data not shown).
Last modified
08/20/2018 - 12:29 pm