NCJ Number
124550
Date Published
1990
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The National Institute of Justice began the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) program in 1977 to provide objective measures of recent drug use among arrestees and information about changing drug use trends. DUF data are collected in central booking facilities in participating cities for approximately 14 consecutive days each quarter. In each site, about 225 male and up to 100 female arrestees are interviewed and submit to urinalysis to detect cocaine, opiates, marijuana, PCP, methadone, benzodiazodines, methaqualone, propoxyphene, barbiturates, and amphethamines.
Abstract
During the first quarter of 1990, Denver initiated data collection as part of the DUF program, and Cleveland added female arrestees to its data collection efforts. More than half the male arrestees at each site tested positive for a drug at the time of arrest. Cocaine use was most prevalent among both males and females. During this period, more than half of all arrestees reported having heard about ice, a smokable form of methamphetamine, but the use of ice among the sample appeared to be quite limited. DUF estimates of total drug use were compared to figures obtained from Uniform Crime Reports (URC) in Chicago; the comparison provided strong empirical support for the validity and robustness of the DUF sample estimate.