Domain: Treatment for Substance Use Disorders
Indicator: Primary Substance Mentioned at Admission to Treatment
Data Source: State and Local Agencies
Time Period: 2016
 
Treatment admissions data provide indicators of the health consequences of drug use and their impact on the treatment system (NIDA 2014). Ten of the 12 NDEWS Sentinel Community Epidemiologists (SCEs) were able to provide the NDEWS Coordinating Center with 2016 treatment admissions data from their local sources (data were not available for Atlanta Metro and Chicago Metro SCSs). 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 10 NDEWS Sentinel Community Sites (SCS) with available data for 2016 admissions.
    • Alcohol ranked first or second in all sites with available data except Los Angeles County, where it ranked 3rd. (Table 3)
    • The proportion of persons entering treatment that mentioned alcohol as a primary substance ranged from a high of 37.1% in the Denver Metro area to a low of 16.9% in Los Angeles County in 2016. (Figure 3a)
    • Heroin ranked first or second in 8 sites; in Southeastern Florida (Miami Area) it ranked 3rd and in Texas heroin ranked 4th. (Table 3)
    • Primary heroin admissions ranged from a high of 42.9% in Wayne County (Detroit Area) to a low of 14.0% in Texas. (Figure 3b)
  • Marijuana was the next most highly ranked primary drug among treatment clients in the 10 NDEWS SCSs with available data for 2016.
    • Marijuana ranked second, third, or fourth in all sites with available data except San Francisco, where it ranked 6th. (Table 3)
    • Primary marijuana admissions ranged from a high of 22.8% in Texas to a low of 4.6% 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 NDEWS sites where primary methamphetamine admissions ranked among top 3 drugs, the proportion of persons entering treatment that mentioned methamphetamine as a primary substance ranged from a high of 29.0% in Los Angeles County to a low of 12.1% in King County (Seattle Area). (Figure 3d)
    • Among the 5 NDEWS sites where it ranked low (below 5), 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 11.2% in Philadelphia to a low of 3.2% in Maine (Figure 3e) and ranked between 3rd and 6th in the 10 NDEWS SCSs with available data for 2016 admissions. (Table 3) 
  • The proportion of treatment admissions that mentioned prescription opioids as a primary drug of use ranged from a high of 23.4% in Maine to a low of 2.6% in New York City (Figure 3f) and ranked between 3rd and 7th in the 10 NDEWS SCSs with available data for 2016 admissions. (Table 3) 
  • Primary benzodiazepine admissions ranked between 6th and 8th in all 10 NDEWS sites with available data. (Table 3) The proportion of treatment admissions that mentioned benzodiazepines as a primary drug of use was less than 2% in the 10 NDEWS SCSs with available data for 2016 admissions (data not shown). 
  • Data on primary admissions for MDMA were reported for 7 NDEWS SCSs and was ranked 8th or higher in all 7 sites. (Table 3) The proportion of treatment admissions that mentioned MDMA as a primary drug of use was less than 1% in the 7 NDEWS SCSs with available data for 2016 MDMA admissions (data not shown).
 
Last modified
08/20/2018 - 12:29 pm