Adolescent Admissions for Addiction Treatment Increase

The number of adolescents age 12 to 17 admitted to substance abuse treatment increased 20 percent between 1994 and 1999 according to the latest Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) report released this past winter by SAMHSA.

Admissions for marijuana use grew from 43 percent of adolescent admissions in 1994 to 60 percent in 1999. In 1999, about half (51 percent) of adolescent marijuana admissions were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system. Among all admissions to substance abuse treatment for marijuana in 1999, more than half (57 percent) first used marijuana by age 14, and 92 percent by age 18.

TEDS treatment admissions were dominated by four substances in 1999: alcohol (47 percent), opiates (16 percent, primarily heroin), cocaine (14 percent), and marijuana/hashish (14 percent). These four substances together accounted for 91 percent of admissions.

The 1999 TEDS report provides information on the characteristics of the approximately 1.6 million annual admissions to treatment for abuse of alcohol and drugs in facilities that report to their states. These facilities are licensed or certified by the state substance abuse agency to provide substance abuse treatment, and are required by the states to provide data.

By providing information on changing geographic and demographic patterns in treatment admissions, TEDS reflects underlying trends in substance abuse with significant implications for program planning.

"Providing treatment for people in need is both compassionate public policy and a sound investment," said SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie, M.A., A.C.S.W. "We need to ensure that the critical links are made at the community level among treatment providers, criminal justice, education, and social service systems. We also need to ensure that effective treatments—such as the tested and effective treatment models for marijuana dependence developed by SAMHSA—are being used at the local level."

Additional key findings include:

• Alcohol admission rates generally were highest in the Pacific Northwest, North Central, and Northeast states. The rate for the United States as a whole declined by 19 percent between 1994 and 1999, from 418 per 100,000 age 12 and over to 337 per 100,000. This rate of decline was equaled or exceeded in 16 states (Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah).

• Heroin admission rates were highest in the Pacific and Middle Atlantic states. The rate for the United States as a whole was stable over the period between 1994 and 1999. However, heroin admission rates increased between 1994 and 1999 by 100 percent or more in 15 states (Alabama, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin).

• Cocaine admission rates were generally highest in the Middle Atlantic and some Southern states. Trends indicated stable or declining admission rates for cocaine abuse. Cocaine admission rates decreased from 1994 to 1999 by 25 percent or more in 18 states (Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina).

• Marijuana treatment admission rates showed substantial increases across a large number of states. The U.S. admission rate for marijuana abuse increased from 69 per 100,000 persons age 12 and over in 1994 to 103 per 100,000 in 1999. In 13 states, 1999 rates were at least double the rates reported in 1994. (Alabama, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Washington, and Wyoming).

• Since 1994, methamphetamine/amphetamine admission rates increased, spreading east from the Pacific states into the Midwest and South. In 16 states, rates at least doubled between 1994 and 1999. (Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming).

To obtain a copy of the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) 1994-1999 report, contact SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, MD 20847. Telephone: 1-800-729-6686 (English and Spanish) or 1 (800) 487-4889 (TDD). The report can also be viewed at the SAMHSA Web site at www.oas.samhsa.gov/. 

« See Also—Previous Article

See Also—Related Content—Primary Marijuana Admission Rates by State: TEDS 1994 and 1999 »

See Also—Next Article »

Back to Top