Majority of Youth Say Marijuana Easy To Obtain How easy is it for young people to get marijuana and other illicit drugs? In 2002, more than half of youth age 12 to 17 felt that marijuana was easy to obtain. And almost 17 percent of all youth reported By Gender, Percentages of Youth Reporting that Obtaining Illicit Drugs Is Easy: 2002 60% 50% being approached by someone selling drugs 30% (NSDUH), formerly the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. 20% 10% From across the Nation, the survey gathered responses from more than 23,000 youth to a series of questions about their use and perceptions of availability of illicit drugs. First, young people were asked to give a tally of their illicit drug use in the month prior to the interview. Illicit drugs included marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, and prescription drugs for non-medical use. Youth were then asked how easy or difficult it was to obtain drugs. In addition, they were asked about being approached in the past month by someone selling drugs. Responses were 0% Marijuana LSD Cocaine Crack Source: Office of Applied Studies, National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2002. Heroin frequently used drug; 8 percent reported using it within the last month. Four percent reported using prescription drugs nonmedically in the past month; 1 percent used inhalants; and 1 percent used hallucinogens, including LSD. Cocaine (including crack) and heroin were used by less than 1 percent of the respondents. Overall, 55 percent of youth age 12 to 17 said it would be easy to obtain marijuana. More than one in four young people felt it would be easy to obtain crack, compared to 25 percent for cocaine, 19 percent for LSD, and 16 percent for heroin. By gender, females were more likely than males to report that LSD, cocaine, crack, and heroin were easy to obtain. By age, 16- and 17year-olds were more likely than younger children age 12 to 15 to report marijuana, LSD, cocaine, crack, and heroin as easy to obtain. Data show that many young people don't have to go looking for illicit drugs; sellers bring the drugs to them. Males were more likely to be approached by a drug seller than females, and youth age 16 or 17 were more likely to be approached than youth age 15 or younger. The report reveals some discrepancies between youth who live in metropolitan areas and those who live in non-metropolitan areas. Youth in metropolitan areas were more likely than youth in non-metropolitan areas to report that LSD or cocaine was easy to obtain. In large metropolitan areas, youth reported more frequently that heroin was easy to obtain than those living in small metropolitan or non-metropolitan areas. Youth living in metropolitan areas were more likely to be approached by someone selling drugs. Clearly, young people who reported that illicit drugs were easy to obtain were more likely to report past-month use of marijuana, LSD, cocaine, or crack than were those who viewed illicit drugs as hard to obtain. Furthermore, youth who were approached by someone selling drugs during the past month were also more likely to report using drugs than were youth not approached by a drug seller. An electronic copy of this NSDUH report, Availability of Illicit Drugs among Youths, is available from SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies at www.drugabusestatistics .samhsa.gov. On the Web: A New Resource for Child Traumatic Stress The National Resource Center for Child Traumatic Stress, funded by SAMHSA, has developed a comprehensive and easy-tonavigate Web site with information and resources for counselors, families, and others seeking to understand and treat child traumatic stress. Developed to support the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (See SAMHSA News, Volume XI, Number 1), the Resource Center's Web site provides families, school personnel, and health professionals access to the developing body of knowledge on the effects of domestic, school, and community violence; traumatic bereavement; natural disasters; medical procedures; and other traumas experienced by children from infancy through adolescence. Resources include: Links for mental health professionals including the PILOTS database-a catalogue of professional literature on post-traumatic stress disorder-and articles and presentations by Network members. Articles and fact sheets on child traumatic stress, resilience and recovery factors, and evidence-based approaches to service and treatment in a variety of settings. A guide to family preparedness to help a family develop an emergency plan, a communication plan, and an emergency supply kit. A downloadable wallet card to keep contact information of family members, schools, local authorities, and others. Disaster preparedness information specific to bioterrorism, epidemics, earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. • A checklist to evaluate the mental health component of the school crisis and emergency plan for school personnel. Contact information for Network member organizations. Expansion of the Resource Center's Web site continues as Network member organizations develop and publish new findings and strategies. For example, a resource area added recently focuses on child traumatic grief. Fact sheets for parents and professionals, as well as information specifically designed for the media, parents, pediatricians and pediatric nurses, and school personnel, are included. For more information, visit the National Resource Center for Child Traumatic Stress Web site at www.nctsnet.org. Additional links to information on children and disasters are available on SAMHSA's Web site at www.samhsa.gov. Methadone from Clinics Is Not the Culprit Methadone-associated deaths are not being caused primarily by methadone diverted from methadone treatment programs, according to a panel of experts convened by SAMHSA. "While deaths involving methadone increased, experiences in several states show that addiction treatment programs are not the culprits," said SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) Director H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., M.P.H. He cited the expert panel consensus report at the Sixth International Conference on Pain and Chemical Dependency in New York City in early February. Methadone-Associated Mortality, Report of a National Assessment concludes that "although the data remain incomplete, National Assessment meeting participants concurred that methadone tablets and/or diskettes distributed through channels other than opioid treatment programs most likely are the central factor in methadoneassociated mortality." Hospital emergency department visits involving methadone rose 176 percent from 1995 to 2002. The rise from 2000 to 2002 was 50 percent, according to SAMHSA'S Drug Abuse Warning Network. SAMHSA convened the panel in May 2003 to determine whether its methadone regulations were allowing diversion of methadone from clinics or whether the rise of methadone mentions in hospital emergency rooms and reports of deaths were due to methadone coming from other sources. The panel-state and Federal experts, researchers, epidemiologists, pathologists, toxicologists, medical examiners, coroners, pain management specialists, addiction medicine specialists, and others-concluded that the methadone from reported deaths came from sources other than opioid treatment programs. SAMHSA Adds Sixth Accreditation Body for Methadone Programs SAMHSA recently approved the National Commission for Correctional Health Care to conduct accreditation surveys for initiation, renewal, and continued accreditation of opioid treatment programs in jails and corrections facilities that provide methadone for patients with opioid addiction. Oversight of opioid treatment programs was transferred to SAMHSA from the Food and Drug Administration in May 2001. At that time, the SAMHSA accreditation process was created to require all treatment facilities that use methadone to withdraw or maintain patients addicted to opiates to become accredited. Other approved accreditation bodies include: Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities; Council on Accreditation for Children and Family "The participants in the meeting reviewed data on methadone formulation, distribution, patterns of prescribing and dispensing, as well as relevant data on drug toxicology and drug-associated morbidity and mortality, before concluding that the cases of overdosing individuals were not generally linked to methadone derived from opioid treatment programs," said SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie, M.A., A.C.S.W. The panel based its conclusion that methadone is coming from other sources on data showing that the greatest growth in methadone distribution in recent years is associated with its use as a prescription analgesic prescribed for pain, primarily in solid tablet or diskette form, and not in the liquid formulations that are the mainstay of opioid treatment programs that treat patients Services; Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Washington Department of Social and Health Services; and Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, State of Missouri Department of Mental Health. SAMHSA regulations mandate that a SAMHSA-recognized accreditation body accredit all methadone treatment centers at least every 3 years. Accreditation bodies are required to notify SAMHSA within 48 hours after becoming aware of any practice or condition in an opioid treatment program that may pose a serious risk to public health and safety or patient care. For more information, go to http://dpt.samhsa.gov/accreditation.htm. ▸ with methadone for abuse of heroin or prescription painkillers. The experts surmise that current reports of methadone deaths involve one of three scenarios: illicitly obtained methadone used in excessive or repetitive doses in an attempt to achieve euphoric effects; methadone, either licitly or illicitly obtained, used in combination with other prescription medications such as benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety medications), alcohol, or other opioids; or an accumulation of methadone to harmful serum levels in the first few days of treatment for addiction or pain, before tolerance is developed. "SAMHSA will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that SAMHSA's supervision of opioid treatment programs is always in the public interest," Mr. Curie emphasized.▸ Retailers Reduce Cigarette Sales to Youth Recent data from SAMHSA show that retailers continue to reduce sales of tobacco to children under age 18. Overall, the national retailer violation rate dropped to 14.1 percent in 2002-from 16.3 percent in 2001 and 40.1 percent in 1996. SAMHSA released these data in December at the 2003 National Conference on Tobacco or Health in Boston. The 2002 survey shows that 41 states and the District of Columbia achieved a retailer violation rate of no more than 15 percent. Survey findings are based on reports submitted by states in response to a Federal law established in 1992 that restricts access to tobacco by youth under age 18. The law, known as the Synar Amendment, was named for the late Representative Mike Synar of Oklahoma. It includes implementing regulations that require states and U.S. territories to enact and enforce youth tobacco access laws; conduct annual, random unannounced inspections of tobacco outlets; achieve negotiated annual retailer violation targets; and attain a final goal of 20 percent or below for retailer non-compliance. The new survey shows that seven states reported achieving a retailer violation rate of 20 percent or less for the first time in 2002. These states include Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. States with a low retailer violation rate have a number of common characteristics, according to SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie, M.A., A.C.S.W. "Generally, these states employ a comprehensive strategy that combines vigorous enforcement efforts, political support from the state government, and a climate of active social norms that discourage youth tobacco use," he explained. "Tobacco control programs in these states also tend to be well coordinated and include targeted merchant and community education, media advocacy, and use of community coalitions to mobilize support for restricting minors' access to tobacco." Alaska was the only state that failed to meet its negotiated retailer violation target in 2002. As specified in the law, Alaska is committing additional state funds for tobacco enforcement as an alternative to losing part of its SAMHSA block grant funding. For more information, visit http://prevention.samhsa.gov/tobacco. Or, contact SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, MD 20847-2345. Telephone: 1 (800) 729-6686 (English and Spanish) or 1 (800) 487-4889 (TDD). ‣ |