NCJ Number
206844
Date Published
December 2003
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report presents drug abuse trend data for the Detroit/Wayne Country area and Michigan, in general.
Abstract
The Detroit metropolitan area ranks among the top 10 of the Nation’s major population centers and Michigan is the eighth most populous State. Several factors contribute to substance abuse in the State: the presence of a major international airport and 10 other large airports, as well as 235 public and private small airports; a 700 mile border with Ontario, Canada, with both land and water crossings; the presence of numerous colleges and universities with many out-of-State and international students; and chronic structural unemployment. Data on drug abuse trends were drawn from hospital emergency department (ED) information, treatment admissions information, drug-related mortality information, heroin purity data, drug intelligence data, drug distribution data, poison control case information, and infectious disease data. These data indicate that between 1994 and 1999, cocaine was the most frequently mentioned substance in drug-related hospital ED admissions. Heroin ED mentions rose steadily beginning in 1994 and stabilized in 2001 and 2002. Other opiates that show increased use in Michigan are hydrocodone and, to a lesser extent, oxycodone. Marijuana use remains high and stable in the State, with Mexican marijuana dominating the market. Increasingly, levels of methamphetamine abuse have been observed in the State, particularly in the southwest corner of Lower Michigan. Depressant use remains stable, with the exception of an increase in the use of Carisoprodol. LSD use continues to decline from already low levels of use and the use of club drugs is also stable or declining, depending on the particular drug. Finally, injection drug use was involved in 29 percent of cumulative AIDS cases in Michigan as of July 1, 2003. Exhibits