NCJ Number
138148
Date Published
1991
Length
18 pages
Annotation
The magnitude and seriousness of the substance abuse problem within California's criminal justice population are supported by data from Federal and State information systems to which the California Department of Corrections (CDC) has access.
Abstract
Some of these information systems contain data for the entire statewide population; others can be used to obtain data specific to CDC's adult correctional population. Summary data indicate 287,893 felony and misdemeanor arrests in California for drug law violations in 1989; these arrests accounted for 14.5 percent of total statewide arrests. The percentage of arrestees testing positive for drug use in San Jose was the lowest, ranging from 56 to 59 percent. The highest percentage range of 80 to 83 percent was reported for San Diego. The range for Los Angeles was 67 to 71 percent. A substantially larger percentage of San Diego arrestees tested positive for two more drugs when compared to Los Angeles and San Jose. Except for San Jose, cocaine was the most frequently used drug. Women tested positive more frequently for opiates than men, and men tested positive more often for marijuana than women. A total of 34,520 drugs were mentioned in 21,993 hospital emergency episodes during 1989, and 2,652 deaths were directly attributed to drug use. The year also saw 108,604 total admissions to community drug treatment programs. The number of inmates in custody and parolees under supervision increased by 30.3 percent from 1987 to 1989. The percentage of total commitments for drug offenses also rose. In 1990, 26.2 percent of 47,697 parolees returned to custody had a drug offense as a principal charge. The results of a survey of CDC substance abuse services are presented. Appendixes contain supplementary data and graphs on substance abuse services. 2 tables and 5 graphs