Everyone has heard about the nation's drug czar, and the questions as to whether or not America's drug policies are having any impact on drug use in this country. The statistics on methamphetamine usage might shed some light on the subject. While there are many drugs that are used illegally, some reports indicate that crystal meth use might actually be declining.
As reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) estimates that 13 million people age 12 or older have tried methamphetamine at least once in their life. This represented 5% of the population at that point in time, while an estimated 46% of Americans were believed to have tried some illicit drug. What was notable about these crystal meth usage numbers is that they show a decline in all age groups from the results of the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. It is hoped that as more current data become available, the downward trend will continue.
What was evident from the 2007 survey was that the age group that most heavily uses meth is the 18-25 year-olds. Their crystal meth usage rate is at least double that of any other age group. While people as young as 12 have reported using methamphetamine, the average age for the first use of meth is typically in the late teens or early 20's, fitting squarely in that high use age group. In many ways, this statistic is not surprising, as this is the age that young people are starting to live on their own, or going off to college, and are experimenting with making their own decisions without supervision for the first time. Trying drugs is part of that experimentation.
While the NSDUH statistics indicate a decline in methamphetamine usage, others seem to contradict these numbers. For example, the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), which tracks information on hospital emergency department incidents that are drug related, has reported a significant increase in the number of emergency department visits that are related to crystal meth abuse. In addition, admissions to treatment facilities for methamphetamine abuse have also increased significantly. In 1992, treatment admissions where meth was indicated as the primary drug of abuse represented 1% of all admissions, and totaled approximately 21,000 admissions. By 2004, that number had grown to more than 150,000 admissions, and represented 8% of treatment admissions. Clearly, these statistics are in conflict with the overall meth usage numbers.
However, that conflict might be a positive in the big picture. If usage is down across all age groups, and yet more people are entering crystal meth addiction treatment programs, there could be some hope that the scourge that is meth will eventually become less of an issue for the young people of America.
No comments:
Post a Comment