NCJ Number
201649
Date Published
June 2003
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This report presents recent trends in substance abuse in Texas.
Abstract
Illict drugs continue to be a problem for Texas, mainly due to its close proximity to Mexico. Illegal drugs cross the border into Texas and make their way north. Information for this report includes price, purity, trafficking, and supply data from the Dallas, El Paso, and Houston Field Divisions of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); treatment data from the Client Oriented Data Acquisition Process; overdose death data from the Bureau of Vital Statistics; data from hospital emergency departments; the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program; student drug use data from a statewide survey; and adult drug use from a 2000 statewide survey. Highlights of the data analysis revealed that 29 percent of treatment clients report that their primary substance abuse problem is with cocaine. Poisoning and overdose deaths involving cocaine are on the rise in Texas. Alcohol leads all other drug in terms of dependency, deaths, treatment admissions, and arrests. While heroin from Mexico is available and cheap to purchase in Texas, statewide poison control center calls and emergency department treatment involving heroin in Dallas have declined in recent years. Marijuana is the drug of choice for 78 percent of youths who enter drug treatment programs. The northern part of the State continues to experience problems with the use and distibution of methamphetamine and amphetamine. Treatment admissions for ecstasy continue to rise, as does secondary student use of the drug. Finally, the report considers the intersection of AIDS and substance abuse. The transmission of AIDS through heterosexual contact exceeds the proportion of cases attributed to intravaneous drug use.