Monitoring Drug Epidemics and the Markets that Sustain Them Using ADAM II: Final Technical Report

• NCJ Number: 239906
• Author(s): Andrew Golub, Ph.D.; Henry Brownstein, Ph.D.; Eloise Dunlap, Ph.D.
• Date Published: August 2012
• Length: 85 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2010-IJ-CX-0011
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)

Annotation

This study examined trends in the use of five widely abused drugs among arrestees at 10 geographically diverse locations from 2000 to 2010, based on data from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program reintroduced in 2007 (ADAM II) and its predecessor, the ADAM program.

Abstract

This study provides an important update regarding drug epidemics at the 10 ADAM II locations; however the extensive and alternative exploratory analyses strongly indicate that there is no simple relationship between the nature of individuals' drug market purchases obtained by the ADAM Program and trends in drug epidemics. Possibly, the underlying structure of drug markets may change in response to changes in the phase of a drug epidemic. The nature of individual purchases by users, however, may remain the same despite the changes. Understanding these types of changes, however, would require information from drug dealers and not users. This type of data was not collected by the ADAM and ADAM II program. This report indicates patterns of drug use among arrestees in particular locations. The most pressing drug-related concern for most of the ADAM II locations was marijuana. This is good news to the extent that marijuana use is involved with fewer drug-related problems than crack cocaine. At most ADAM locations, the crack epidemic has been declining for some time among arrestees; however, the timing of the decline phase varied substantially across locations. One exception to this trend is in Sacramento, which is still in the midst of its crack epidemic, such that prevention efforts are still needed to discourage youths from use and bring the epidemic into its decline phase. The powder cocaine epidemic entered a decline early in the 2000s at two eastern locations (Charlotte and Manhattan) and closer to 2010 at two western locations (Denver and Portland). Extensive tables and figures with 63 references