Pubdate: Tue, 25 Apr 2006
Source: USA Today (US)
Section: Pg 1A
Copyright: 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact:  http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author:  Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

MANY MORE TREATED FOR METH, POT

Prescription drugs, methamphetamine and marijuana are sending more 
people than ever into drug treatment, according to new federal data 
that also reflect how criminal sentencing policies have dramatically 
increased the number of drug users in treatment.

The data, released Monday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration, indicate that alcohol remains by far the 
most common reason for substance-abuse treatment. However, alcohol 
abuse was a factor in only 40% of the roughly 1.9 million admissions 
to U.S. treatment centers in 2004, down from 53% of the nearly 1.7 
million admissions a decade earlier. The more recent numbers show a 
broadening in the variety of addictions, posing new challenges to 
treatment centers across the nation, the agency's Mark Weber says.

The number of addicts seeking treatment for abusing prescription 
opiates such as OxyContin remained relatively small ­ 63,243 in 2004 
­ but was up 62% from three years earlier, the report says. 
Prescription drug abusers accounted for about 3% of those in 
treatment in 2004, triple the percentage of a decade earlier.

Meanwhile, the number of meth addicts in treatment in 2004 ­ 129,079 
­ represented a jump of 57% from 2001. Meth addicts made up 7% of 
those in treatment in 2004. Weber says the rising impact of such 
addicts is forcing treatment centers to retool their programs to 
accommodate longer, more intensive treatment. "It's the insidious 
nature of this drug. It grabs hold of people so quickly and destroys 
their lives so rapidly."

In Arkansas, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and Utah, meth 
addicts represented at least 20% of those seeking treatment, the data 
show. Hawaii's treatment programs had the highest proportion of meth 
addicts, 41%.

Winnie Wechsler, executive director of Phoenix Houses of California, 
which provides daily treatment to 2,200 people, says the rise in meth 
addicts is continuing.

The data also reflect the increase in the number of courts that focus 
on drug cases and offer options for treatment instead of jail. The 
number of marijuana users in treatment topped 298,000 in 2004, more 
than double the number from a decade earlier. The data show that 57% 
of those treated for marijuana use in 2004 entered treatment centers 
under court orders.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman