1998 Annual Report

on Opiate Use 

Among Arrestees

on Opiate Use

Among Arrestees 

A Program of the National Institute of Justice

Research Report
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

810 Seventh Street N.W.

Washington, DC 20531

Janet Reno

Attorney General

Raymond C. Fisher

Associate Attorney General

Laurie Robinson

Assistant Attorney General

Noel Brennan

Deputy Assistant Attorney General

Jeremy Travis

Director, National Institute of Justice

Office of Justice Programs 

World Wide Web Site

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov

Justice Information Center

World Wide Web Site

http://www.ncjrs.org

National Institute of Justice

World Wide Web Site

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij

ADAM Program

World Wide Web Site

http://www.adam-nij.net

..
1998 Annual Report

on Opiate Use 

Among Arrestees

A Program of the National Institute of Justice

Research Report
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

Jeremy Travis

Director

K. Jack Riley, Ph.D.

ADAM Director

NCJ 175659

The National Institute of Justice is a component of 

the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the

Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bureau of Justice Statistics,

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and

the Office for Victims of Crime.
1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use iii

Acknowledgments

NIJ

K. Jack Riley, ADAM Director

Christine Crossland

Nora Fitzgerald

Tom Hay

Natalie Lu

Gerald Soucy

Bruce Taylor

ABT ASSOCIATES

Dana Hunt, Project Director

Phyllis Newton, Project Manager

Kyla Carrigan

Sarah Kuck

Quentin McMullen

Carol Putnam

William Rhodes

Tom Rich

George Yacoubian

Sylvia Young

DBA D ESIGN

Patricia L. Blake

Pearl Jusem

Jude Menz
1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use v

Contents

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iii

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Opiate Trends in ADAM Data, 1990-98 . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Regional Variation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Opiate Use by Age Cohort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Poly-Drug Use Among Opiate Users . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Introduction

In 1998, the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program expanded

from 23 to 35 urban sites across the United States. These new sites include

Albuquerque, Anchorage, Des Moines, Laredo, Las Vegas, Minneapolis,

Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Spokane, and Tucson.

For many of the new sites, this report represents the first look at rates of opiate1 use in their felony and serious misdemeanor arrestee populations. 

Across the 35 urban sites currently participating in ADAM in 1998, adult

male respondents tested positive for recent (within 72 hours) opiate use at

rates ranging from a high of 18.4 percent in Philadelphia to a low of 1.3 percent in Atlanta. For the 322

sites that collected data on female arrestees during 1998, the proportion of arrestees testing positive for opiates ranges from

27.0 percent in Chicago to no positive tests in Laredo. Among the new sites,

adult male opiate-positive rates range from 17.4 percent (Seattle) to 1.9 percent (Oklahoma City), indicating that ADAM’s new Western sites report

rates consistent with the general distribution of opiate-positive rates. For

adult females in new sites, the opiate-positive rate ranged from 17.2 percent

in Seattle to no positive tests in Laredo. Among all adult male arrestees, the

median site rate of opiate positives increased from 5.5 percent in 1997 to 6.0

percent in 1998. For females, the site median decreased from 8.2 percent in

1997 to 7.4 percent in 1998. Among the new sites, Seattle’s adult male opiate-positive rate of 17.4 percent clearly exceeds all other new sites with the

next highest rate in Laredo (11.2 percent). 

Among the veteran sites in 1998, six sites experience adult male opiate-positive

rates in excess of 10 percent: Philadelphia (18.4 percent), Chicago (18.3 per1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use 1

1 Current drug screening methods cannot distinguish heroin from the larger opiate class of drugs to

which it belongs. More expensive confirmation testing is required to determine if heroin was used.

Other drugs in the opiate class include codeine and morphine. Thus, drug testing results in this

report are for opiate, not heroin, positives. Preliminary results from an opiate-confirmation project

indicate that more than 97 percent of ADAM opiate positives are from heroin use.

2 Atlanta had too few female cases for analysis purposes in 1998.
cent), New York City (16.2 percent), Portland (15.5 percent), New Orleans

(12.9 percent), and St. Louis (10.9 percent). Adding the new sites, Seattle

(17.4 percent) and Laredo (11.2 percent), helps to illustrate that the higher

adult male opiate-positive rates occur across all regions of the country. In

1998, six veteran ADAM sites show opiate-positive rates greater than 10 percent for females, with 4 re p o rting rates greater than 20 percent (Chicago,

D e t roit, New York City, and Portland). Among female arrestees in the new

2 1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use

METHODOLOGY

To gauge drug use trends in urban areas,

the National Institute of Justice established the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF)

program in 1987. A modified version of

DUF, the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring

(ADAM) program, was initiated in 1997.

To date, 35 jurisdictions participate in

ADAM. ADAM involves administration of a

survey instrument, which measures historical and current drug use patterns

among arrestees, and collection of a urine

sample which is tested for 10 drugs.

A more detailed overview of data collection methods can be found in the 1998

Annual Report on Drug Use Among Adult

and Juvenile Arrestees.

3 This box discusses how data collection methods have

affected reporting methods and two significant reporting changes that will

appear in next year’s reports.

The first and most important change

relates to sampling. Data collected after

the mid-point of 1999 in all sites will be

collected under probability sampling

plans. This means that confidence intervals can be attached to estimates derived

from ADAM data which in turn means

that analysts can assess whether year-toyear changes in drug prevalence rates are

significant. For example, this year in New

York City, the cocaine prevalence for

males fell from 57.6 percent in 1997 to

47.1 percent in 1998. ADAM cannot

report that as a statistically significant

decline because of limits to the current

sampling plans. The 1999 reports will

introduce reporting on standard errors

and confidence intervals.

The second important change re l ates to

weighting the dat a . Each case collected

re p resents similar respondents (age, r a c e ,

and booking charge to name a few characteristics of interest) that we re not

selected for interv i ew. If a certain cat eg o ry of offender is re p resented out of

p ro p o rtion to the actual occurrence in

the arrest populat i o n , weighting can be

used to correct the dispro p o rt i o n a l i t y.

T h e re are numerous factors that introduce dispro p o rtion into the dat a . T h e

3 National Institute of Justice. (1999). “ADAM: 1998 Annual Report on Drug Use Among Adult and

Juvenile Arrestees.” Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Justice.
sites, five sites (Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Spokane)

re p o rt opiate-positive rates greater than 10 percent, but less than 20 perc e n t .

In general, a higher proportion of female arrestees than male arrestees test

positive for opiates at both new and veteran sites. In 1998, male arrestees

show opiate-positive rates in excess of female arrestees by at least 5 percentage points in only 3 sites: two veteran (New Orleans and St. Louis) and one

new (Laredo). In Laredo, no female arrestees tested positive for opiates. In

1990, female arrestees tested positive for opiate use at higher proportions

than their male counterparts in all sites. 

1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use 3

jails included in the program have

changed over time, most recently as a

result of standardizing site cat c h m e n t

a reas at the county leve l . In add i t i o n , t h e

DUF program operated according to a

c h a rge priority system that emphasize d

i n t e rv i ewing and testing felony offenders

over misdemeanants. D rug offenders, w h o

a re more likely to test positive for dru g s

than their non-drug-offending counterp a rt s , we re limited to 20 percent of the

total sample to prevent drug offenders

f rom dominating the dat a . Traffic offenses

( e . g . , DUI and DWI) we re generally ex c l u ded from the sample. These practices we re

revised in the second quarter of 1998

d ata collection so that all arre s t e e s ,

reg a rdless of charg e , a re eligible for inclusion in the A DAM study.

This year’s data, as well as data collected

during previous years, could be weighted

by local arrest data to adjust for the

data collection methods. We chose not

to weight the data for two reasons.

First, there may be additional changes in

the data collection protocol this year

that would change the weighting process,

forcing us to revise the entire weighted

data series. Second, since confidence

intervals and quantification of uncertainty cannot be applied to the data series

until next year, it seemed appropriate to

do all of the design and reporting

changes in one year.

It is important that the current analysis

be read with an understanding that the

weighting and sampling issues limit pres e n t ation and interpre t at i o n . In part i c ul a r, small changes from year to year in

p revalence figures should not be viewed as

d e f i n i t i ve . It should be stressed that the

a r restee population is a difficult one to

a c c e s s , and one not adequately cove red in

other data collection efforts that , f o r

ex a m p l e , t a rget households, s c h o o l s , o r

t re atment populat i o n s . The data are most

i n f o r m at i ve over multiple years when

longer term trends can be discern e d .
An examination of the two most recent years of ADAM data collection re s u l t s

(1997 and 1998) indicates that combined male and female opiate-positive rates

have remained relatively stable with no change greater than 5 perc e n t a g e

points in all 23 veteran sites. However, because most sites re p o rted low (less

than 10 percent) opiate-positive rates, it is difficult to determine the importance of slight increases or decreases (see “Methodology,” page 2). San Jose

female arrestees experienced the greatest decrease in opiate positives (6.7 percentage points) between 1997 and 1998, while Birmingham female arre s t e e s

experienced the greatest increase (12.9 percentage points). Phoenix showed

the greatest decrease of 3.7 percentage points in male opiate positives between

1997 and 1998. Among male arrestees, Philadelphia was the only site with a

notable increase, re p o rting 10.9 percent in 1997 and 18.4 percent in 1998.

Because current sampling methods do not represent probability-based sampling, we cannot determine whether the small shifts described above are significant. In addition, the differences between 1997 and 1998 should be

viewed with extra caution because, as part of ADAM’s current move toward

probability-based sampling at the county level, many sites have begun the

process of sampling in increasing numbers and facilities, making comparisons

difficult. For example, in New York City the program is now operating in all

five boroughs, rather than only Manhattan as in all previous years. In Los

Angeles, interviewing is conducted at several outlying facilities in Los Angeles County that were not included in 1997.

Overall, analysis of opiate-positive arrestees participating in the ADAM 

program between 1990 and 1998 suggests that little has changed over the

course of the past nine years for this group of arrestees. The addition of 12

new ADAM sites in 1998 illustrates that opiate use among arrestees is not an

East Coast phenomenon. In general, female arrestees tend to use opiates at

higher rates than males, and older arrestees use opiates at higher rates than

younger arrestees. Opiate users also tend to be poly-drug users, with cocaine

being the other drug they are most likely to use. While poly-drug opiate

4 1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use
users tend not to use methamphetamine in high numbers, sites west of the

Mississippi River are much more likely than their Eastern counterparts to

have arrestees who test positive for methamphetamine in addition to testing

positive for opiates. These factors are discussed in more detail after an

overview of 1990-98 trends.

Opiate Trends in ADAM Data, 1990-984

The Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program has surveyed more

than 180,000 adult male and nearly 70,000 adult female arrestees between

1990 and 1998. Before discussing opiate trends among ADAM program participants, it is important to emphasize that opiates represent a small portion

of the drugs for which arrestees test positive. Between 1990 and 1998, Drug

Use Forecasting (DUF)/ADAM arrestees have tested positive for opiate use

at relatively low rates compared to cocaine and marijuana. Of the ten drugs

for which arrestees are tested, they have been most likely to test positive for

cocaine (42.0 percent), followed by marijuana at 27.2 percent and opiates at

8.5 percent. Of each of the remaining drugs, less than 5 percent of all surveyed arrestees test positive.5

Tables 1 and 2 provide opiate trend information across sites by gender. In

general, the changes for male and female arrestees in each site from year to

year are small. In the 1990-98 period for veteran sites, 12 sites show reductions in opiate rates among male arrestees and 10 show increases. San Diego

males show the greatest reduction, from 19.0 percent in 1990 to 9.3 percent

in 1998. Rates for males in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Antonio have

decreased more than five percentage points.

1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use 5

4 Because it is not possible to calculate standard errors for samples at this time, we offer these trend

data for descriptive purposes only. It is also important to bear in mind that while we use the term

“arrestees,” we are in fact reporting on arrest events. Because the data collection includes no identifying information, duplication across quarters can occur.

5 The positive rates for the remaining drugs include: 4.8 percent for benzodiazepines (including Valium), 4.4 percent methamphetamine, 1.8 percent PCP, 1.5 percent methadone, 0.7 percent barbiturates, 0.5 percent propoxyphene (Darvon), and 0.0 percent methaqualone.
6 1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use

Table 1. Percentage of Male Arrestees Testing Positive for Opiates, 1990-98

90-98

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Change

% % % % % % % % % %

NORTHEAST

New York City 17.2 13.8 17.7 19.9 18.9 20.5 17.0 19.1 16.2 -1.2

Philadelphia 8.5 10.7 11.6 11.0 14.4 12.0 10.7 10.9 18.4 9.9

Washington, D.C. 12.9 10.3 11.2 10.0 9.1 8.3 8.8 10.2 9.7 -3.2

SOUTH

Atlanta 4.4 3.2 3.7 2.6 2.5 3.4 3.3 1.5 1.3 -3.1

Birmingham 4.6 4.8 2.8 4.4 3.6 3.3 4.8 4.7 3.7 -0.9

Dallas 5.3 4.0 4.2 4.4 3.0 5.0 5.2 4.2 2.3 -3.0

Ft. Lauderdale 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.1 2.2 2.3 2.6 2.0 0.6

Houston 5.8 3.4 2.7 1.8 2.7 4.9 7.9 10.4 7.5 1.7

Miami – 2.3 1.8 2.3 2.2 3.0 1.5 2.2 2.4 –

New Orleans 5.1 4.3 4.1 4.5 4.6 6.8 7.4 10.6 12.9 7.8

Oklahoma City* – – – – – – – – 1.9 –

MIDWEST

Chicago 27.0 20.9 18.9 28.0 27.1 22.3 19.6 21.7 18.3 -8.7

Cleveland 2.7 2.8 3.1 3.7 2.7 4.6 2.7 3.5 6.0 3.3

Des Moines* – – – – – – – – 2.8 –

Detroit 8.3 8.3 8.4 7.7 7.4 7.0 6.8 4.6 6.8 -1.5

Indianapolis 3.7 3.2 4.2 4.3 2.6 2.4 2.6 3.0 1.8 -1.9

Minneapolis* – – – – – – – – 4.7 –

Omaha 1.7 1.5 2.0 2.3 2.4 1.3 1.2 1.8 2.0 0.3

St. Louis 5.5 5.9 7.1 8.6 10.9 10.9 10.3 9.9 10.9 5.4

WEST/SOUTHWEST

Albuquerque* – – – – – – – – 8.2 –

Denver 2.4 1.5 1.6 3.5 4.0 5.4 5.4 3.6 4.2 1.8

Laredo* – – – – – – – – 11.2 –

Las Vegas* – – – – – – – – 2.6 –

* New site in 1998
Eight sites show reductions greater than five percentage points in the rates 

of females who tested positive for opiates. San Diego females have experienced the greatest decrease, dropping over the 9-year period from 22.3 

percent in 1990 to 6.7 percent in 1998. There are increases of greater than

five percentage points in two sites among females testing positive for opiates,

with Birmingham showing the greatest increase (6.9 percentage points). In

general, female opiate data are based on a small number of cases, and thus

small percentage point changes may not be significant. 

1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use 7

90-98

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Change

% % % % % % % % % %

WEST/SOUTHWEST (continued)

Los Angeles 11.4 9.6 10.4 9.4 9.6 7.3 5.7 5.5 5.6 -5.8

Phoenix 5.5 5.1 5.3 6.1 6.4 7.8 9.1 9.4 5.7 0.2

Sacramento* – – – – – – – – 3.2 –

Salt Lake City* – – – – – – – – 8.2 –

San Antonio 17.3 16.0 14.6 14.0 12.7 9.6 10.4 10.3 9.6 -7.7

San Diego 19.0 17.3 15.6 15.7 12.4 8.0 8.9 7.4 9.3 -9.7

San Jose 7.4 7.5 4.2 5.7 5.9 5.4 5.3 5.5 4.4 -3.0

Tucson* – – – – – – – – 6.8 –

NORTHWEST

Anchorage* – – – – – – – – 2.3 –

Portland 11.4 9.4 11.0 11.0 11.9 14.7 13.0 13.9 15.5 4.1

Seattle* – – – – – – – – 17.4 –

Spokane* – – – – – – – – 8.5 –

* New site in 1998
8 1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use

Table 2. Percentage of Female Arrestees Testing Positive for Opiates, 1990-98

90-98

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Change

% % % % % % % % % %

NORTHEAST

New York City 23.5 21.2 24.3 23.2 30.3 19.4 26.7 20.4 21.8 -1.7

Philadelphia 11.4 8.6 11.4 13.9 18.1 14.5 16.5 15.9 14.9 3.5

Washington, D.C. 19.2 15.1 19.3 20.6 12.6 15.8 11.0 11.4 9.8 -9.4

SOUTH

Atlanta 6.1 4.1 5.3 4.0 3.7 3.2 3.4 3.1 – –

Birmingham 10.7 10.9 4.5 3.8 3.3 3.4 6.4 4.7 17.6 6.9

Dallas 10.0 8.8 8.5 10.3 7.3 5.0 9.6 4.5 4.8 -5.2

Ft. Lauderdale 2.0 3.5 3.0 3.5 2.6 2.9 2.6 4.1 4.7 2.7

Houston 7.8 3.6 3.6 3.8 6.1 3.0 4.2 5.2 7.0 -0.8

New Orleans 10.5 7.0 5.5 4.8 2.5 4.2 2.8 3.3 3.4 -7.1

MIDWEST

Chicago – – – – – – – – 27.0 –

Cleveland 4.7 6.4 5.0 4.4 4.5 5.6 5.7 4.2 1.4 -3.3

Des Moines* – – – – – – – – 6.1 –

Detroit 16.4 10.8 14.8 14.1 13.2 14.8 17.8 9.3 21.5 5.1

Indianapolis 6.9 10.7 7.4 4.4 4.8 7.2 3.4 3.2 4.5 -2.4

Minneapolis* – – – – – – – – 6.0 –

Omaha – – – 1.9 1.8 2.4 3.3 3.8 4.5 –

St. Louis 7.6 6.7 6.8 6.1 8.2 7.9 7.0 8.8 4.9 -2.7

WEST/SOUTHWEST

Albuquerque* – – – – – – – – 15.4 –

Denver 6.1 2.2 4.8 6.2 4.9 6.5 4.8 5.9 3.4 -2.7

Laredo* – – – – – – – – 0.0 –

Las Vegas* – – – – – – – – 13.5 –

Los Angeles 18.3 17.6 13.3 14.5 12.3 10.5 11.8 11.3 8.8 -9.5

Phoenix 15.1 16.8 15.0 14.3 12.4 12.3 12.9 8.2 7.3 -7.8

Sacramento* – – – – – – – – 8.4 –

* New site in 1998
Regional Variation

Opiate-positive rates among recent arrestees tend to vary by region of the

country. For comparison purposes, we have assigned each ADAM site to

one of five geographic regions: Northwest, West/Southwest, Midwest,

South, and Northeast. The highest opiate-positive rate increases occur in

the Midwest, South, and Northeast, and the smallest in the West/Southwest. 

The findings suggest that opiate use among all arrestees in recent years

appears to be highest in the Northwest and Northeast regions of the United

States. Each region, however, is likely to have at least one large city where

opiate rates are substantially higher than the regional average. 

Chicago’s 1998 opiate-positive rate for males is 18.3 percent, substantially

higher than other Midwest sites collecting male data, whose rates range from

1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use 9

90-98

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Change

% % % % % % % % % %

WEST/SOUTHWEST (continued)

Salt Lake City* – – – – – – – – 13.7 –

San Antonio 19.8 21.2 14.0 14.5 13.9 13.2 12.7 9.3 8.6 -11.2

San Diego 22.3 21.0 17.1 20.3 13.1 11.7 10.3 11.8 6.7 -15.6

San Jose 12.5 6.9 9.4 8.3 9.6 9.6 8.6 11.5 4.8 -7.7

Tucson* – – – – – – – – 7.4 –

NORTHWEST

Anchorage* – – – – – – – – 3.8 –

Portland 21.1 16.5 22.4 19.2 21.2 18.0 25.9 26.7 25.1 4.0

Seattle* – – – – – – – – 17.2 –

Spokane* – – – – – – – – 17.1 –

* New site in 1998
an overall low of 1.8 percent to a high of 10.9 percent. Similarly, New

Orleans’s overall male opiate-positive rate (12.9 percent) exceeds other positive rates in the South. Chicago’s opiate-positive rate for females is 27.0 percent and Detroit’s rate is 21.5 percent, both substantially higher than other

Midwest sites collecting female data. Similarly, Birmingham’s overall female

opiate-positive rate (17.6 percent) well exceeds other positive rates in the

South. In the West/Southwest, three new sites report female rates for opiates greater than 10 percent: Albuquerque, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City.

In short, while region appears to make some diff e rence in opiate pattern s ,

with the Northeast and Northwest showing much higher opiate-positive

rates, major U.S. cities outside the Northeast and Northwest (including

B i rmingham, Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, and St. Louis) also show high

rates of opiate use. 

Opiate Use by Age Cohort

Changes in drug-use patterns among age groups, or cohorts, often provide a

window on the future of overall drug use. If use rates increase among

younger arrestees, communities may feel the impact of this increase for the

collective duration of the drug users’ careers. All other factors equal, younger

d rug users have more time left in their drug using careers than older dru g

users. To examine how age might relate to opiate use, five age categories (15-

20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, and 36 and older) were created and compared along

opiate use. Table 3 shows six sites where the overall male opiate-positive rate

in 1998 exceeds 10 percent. Table 4 shows similar results for females in the

six sites where overall opiate positives in 1998 exceed 10 percent. For 1998,

veteran sites with trend data available show the older users (31 and older)

have the highest prevalence rate in 18 of 23 sites for males and 18 of 22 sites

for females. 

From 1990 to 1998, the proportion of adult male opiate positives decreased

more than five percentage points among the oldest arrestees (36 and older)

10 1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use
1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use 11

Table 3. Percentage of Male Arrestees Testing Positive for Opiates by Age for

Selected Sites, 1990-98

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

% % % % % % % % %

Chicago

15-20 15.0 13.7 12.6 19.9 11.9 4.3 4.2 4.3 5.3

21-25 33.0 18.4 16.7 33.5 30.1 23.1 10.2 14.9 12.1

26-30 30.8 22.9 18.8 27.7 36.7 28.7 30.2 30.6 26.6

31-35 25.2 25.2 24.5 28.8 29.0 34.2 30.8 31.4 22.7

36+ 32.3 31.4 25.8 29.6 33.3 29.8 29.7 33.3 24.1

New Orleans

15-20 3.7 2.3 3.4 4.4 4.0 7.3 10.1 15.1 21.2

21-25 4.1 2.4 2.2 2.7 4.5 7.7 8.7 14.6 20.3

26-30 3.6 1.6 2.8 3.5 1.2 4.2 4.0 9.9 9.4

31-35 5.2 9.1 3.5 4.1 7.1 6.6 2.5 4.6 7.6

36+ 9.2 7.8 7.9 6.0 6.0 7.5 9.0 8.4 6.2

New York City

15-20 4.8 2.0 6.0 3.9 3.8 6.1 2.7 3.6 4.3

21-25 14.9 11.5 16.3 11.4 14.1 14.4 11.1 15.2 9.3

26-30 15.9 10.6 17.5 19.5 19.7 21.2 13.8 13.5 15.7

31-35 21.4 19.0 18.8 27.3 24.7 24.8 19.9 25.1 21.5

36+ 29.0 21.2 24.9 23.4 21.1 24.0 22.9 23.2 23.1

Philadelphia

15-20 5.4 7.7 7.9 7.7 8.5 8.1 12.4 8.3 12.8

21-25 5.2 7.5 4.9 8.2 14.6 11.7 10.0 12.9 18.4

26-30 5.5 7.3 7.3 8.3 10.0 13.0 9.6 11.6 28.7

31-35 12.3 13.5 15.5 9.0 14.8 10.5 9.8 9.6 10.9

36+ 16.9 17.9 20.7 19.4 21.9 15.9 11.3 12.1 20.2

Portland

15-20 5.8 5.1 6.3 7.9 1.8 4.6 4.9 4.2 7.1

21-25 4.5 4.1 3.8 10.3 8.1 11.1 13.0 20.4 7.9

26-30 9.1 6.0 8.1 11.1 11.7 12.4 10.3 12.6 14.6

31-35 15.4 14.6 14.4 7.7 14.5 15.8 12.4 11.9 11.4

36+ 18.8 15.5 17.8 14.6 16.8 22.0 17.6 16.1 23.2
in 11 sites. Of these, 5 sites (Detroit, Los Angeles, San Antonio, San

Diego, and San Jose) registered decreases greater than 10 percentage points

in male opiate positives from 1990 to 1998 among older users. During the

same time period, none of these 11 sites experienced an increase in the

youngest male age cohort. Detroit, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and San

Jose all experienced fluctuations in the adult male opiate-positive rates for

15- to 20-year-olds from 1990 to 1998, but overall their 1998 rates do not

differ from their 1990 rates. 

Over the 9-year period, the proportion of adult male opiate positives

increased more than 5 percentage points among the youngest arrestees 

(15-20 year olds) in 4 sites (Houston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and St.

Louis). Of these, New Orleans and St. Louis registered increases greater

than 9 percentage points. In contrast, Chicago showed a decrease in opiate

prevalence among young adult males of more than 5 percentage points.

Over the 9-year period, the proportion of adult female opiate positives

decreased more than 5 percentage points among the oldest arrestees (36

12 1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use

Table 3. Percentage of Male Arrestees Testing Positive for Opiates by Age for

Selected Sites, 1990-98 (continued)

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

% % % % % % % % %

St. Louis

15-20 1.3 1.5 5.7 8.9 7.7 13.9 13.4 10.5 10.7

21-25 2.9 4.0 7.4 9.3 12.1 7.7 12.3 13.7 17.6

26-30 6.0 5.0 5.8 6.7 5.3 8.6 6.9 4.9 10.3

31-35 8.5 6.8 5.8 7.3 7.2 8.5 6.4 9.6 5.0

36+ 10.7 13.8 11.8 9.9 21.1 15.2 10.9 9.5 8.3
1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use 13

Table 4. Percentage of Female Arrestees Testing Positive for Opiates by Age for

Selected Sites, 1990-98

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

% % % % % % % % %

Birmingham

15-20 0.0 5.7 3.2 3.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

21-25 4.8 7.5 1.5 1.8 3.0 4.5 6.2 0.0 12.5

26-30 11.6 10.3 5.2 2.4 4.2 5.4 3.4 0.0 25.0

31-35 18.1 16.0 5.2 3.0 2.7 1.4 11.0 8.0 10.0

36+ 11.9 11.3 6.8 6.8 4.0 3.9 6.7 7.6 24.1

Chicago*

15-20 – – – – – – – – 6.7

21-25 – – – – – – – – 19.0

26-30 – – – – – – – – 13.6

31-35 – – – – – – – – 33.3

36+ – – – – – – – – 38.8

Detroit

15-20 6.1 7.1 6.1 16.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

21-25 3.6 6.8 7.6 4.0 0.0 9.4 20.0 0.0 0.0

26-30 18.0 11.1 8.6 6.4 25.0 8.8 10.7 8.1 13.3

31-35 20.3 13.0 16.0 20.4 0.0 15.4 26.9 14.6 11.8

36+ 32.8 12.7 27.6 17.2 27.8 25.9 20.0 13.8 42.1

New York City

15-20 11.5 2.6 20.0 13.5 29.4 5.1 20.9 2.0 1.4

21-25 13.3 18.8 21.2 17.7 19.6 18.0 14.6 17.0 18.7

26-30 21.2 22.1 28.2 22.2 27.0 19.3 26.6 17.3 20.7

31-35 33.3 20.7 23.0 21.5 32.4 19.6 31.7 23.5 18.9

36+ 38.2 31.3 23.2 31.0 35.8 23.8 27.9 26.9 28.7

Philadelphia

15-20 10.4 2.0 3.4 13.2 3.8 11.1 12.5 18.2 10.0

21-25 3.8 6.9 5.6 12.8 13.0 11.9 12.8 16.0 14.0

26-30 15.0 11.2 9.9 10.0 15.0 11.6 16.3 14.0 26.2

31-35 14.8 8.1 7.4 17.0 23.2 17.9 16.1 18.9 17.9

36+ 16.5 11.6 21.1 16.0 25.2 16.5 20.3 14.0 9.7

* Chicago began collecting data from females in 1998.
and older) in 13 sites. Of these, 6 sites (Atlanta6

, Los Angeles, New

Orleans, San Antonio, San Jose, and Washington, D.C.) registered decreases

g reater than 10 percentage points, and San Diego’s female opiate-positive

rate decreased by more than 30 percentage points. The corre s p o n d i n g

results for the 15-20 age cohort were mixed. New Orleans, San Antonio,

and Washington, D.C. all experienced fluctuations in the adult female 

opiate-positive rates for 15- to 20-year-olds from 1990 to 1998, but overall

their 1998 rates do not differ from their 1990 rates. In the same age categ o ry, Los Angeles’s opiate-positive rate for females is up 3.7 perc e n t a g e

points from 1.6 percent in 1990 to 5.3 percent in 1998. San Jose has 

experienced a decrease in the youngest female users of greater than 5 

p e rcentage points from 1990 to 1998.

F rom 1990 to 1998, two sites (Detroit and Portland) showed an increase in

opiate prevalence among the oldest female users of more than 5 perc e n t a g e

points, while Birmingham and Omaha re p o rted increases of more than 10

p e rcentage points. Intere s t i n g l y, Detroit and Portland re p o rted decre a s e s

14 1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use

Table 4. Percentage of Female Arrestees Testing Positive for Opiates by Age for

Selected Sites, 1990-98 (continued)

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

% % % % % % % % %

Portland

15-20 20.0 9.1 25.0 22.9 12.7 7.5 16.7 22.2 9.1

21-25 11.5 10.1 20.3 9.7 12.9 18.5 9.3 23.2 20.7

26-30 31.0 19.4 21.9 16.3 17.7 16.8 23.6 21.5 15.4

31-35 15.4 20.8 36.7 24.4 28.7 14.7 40.7 31.6 29.4

36+ 29.7 20.8 14.7 25.9 29.5 25.6 28.5 31.8 35.9

6 Atlanta's data for females are from 1990-1997. There were insufficient female cases in 1998

for analysis.
in their youngest female users (15-20) of more than 5 percentage points;

B i rm i n g h a m ’s opiate-positive rate for 15-20 year old females fluctuated but

resulted in no net change.

In summary, in 1998 older arrestees were more likely to test positive for

opiate use. There are a few sites in which a growing number of young

users appear. Areas such as New Orleans and St. Louis have an incre a s i n g

number of younger opiate users, but there is little evidence of more wides p read growth in opiate use among arrestees, particularly in recent years.

Poly-Drug Use Among Opiate Users

Opiate users in the ADAM sites frequently test positive for other drugs 

in addition to opiates, most often cocaine. In the years from 1990-1998,

68.8 percent of all arrestees who test positive for opiates also test positive

for cocaine. In addition, opiate-positive arrestees test positive for marijuana

(23.0 percent), benzodiazepines (16.2 percent), and methadone (10.2 percent), but rarely for methamphetamine (4.1 percent), barbiturate (2.4 percent), PCP (2.2 percent), and propoxyphene (Darvon) (1.8 percent). The

types of drugs opiate users consumed also varied across sites. Table 5

7

provides the percentage of opiate-positive male and female arrestees who also

test positive for cocaine, marijuana, benzodiazepines, or methamphetamine

for selected sites.

Three sites (Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C.) showed levels

of cocaine use among opiate-using arrestees greater than 70 percent for virtually every year between 1990 and 1998. In 1990, 19 of 23 male sites and

15 of 21 female sites showed concurrent cocaine/opiate user rates greater

than 50 percent. In 1997, 15 of 23 male sites and 15 of 21 female sites

1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use 15

7

Sites were selected for illustrative purposes to demonstrate patterns of poly-drug use across all

regions of the country. They include at least one site from each region and have a reasonable distribution of opiate-positive arrestees showing other drug positives.
16 1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use

Table 5. Poly-Drug Use Among Opiate-Positive Arrestees for Selected Sites,

1990-98

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 MALES % % % % % % % % %

Chicago

Cocaine 73.4 83.9 82.9 80.3 81.2 71.9 79.1 80.9 74.4

Marijuana 28.6 14.4 27.1 34.8 38.0 29.1 30.2 37.6 33.5

Benzodiazepines 6.6 6.7 6.5 6.6 5.6 5.0 5.2 0.7 5.9

Methamphetamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.5

Dallas

Cocaine 88.7 86.5 71.4 82.2 86.7 75.5 64.6 69.0 100.0

Marijuana 20.8 5.4 19.0 22.2 16.7 26.5 41.7 31.0 53.8

Benzodiazepines 3.8 2.7 11.9 8.9 6.7 10.2 8.3 16.7 0.0

Methamphetamine 1.9 2.7 0.0 15.6 0.0 8.2 2.1 2.4 7.7

Detroit

Cocaine 63.2 65.7 71.6 70.6 64.7 62.3 54.5 57.9 55.6

Marijuana 11.8 5.7 23.5 32.4 23.5 9.4 18.2 21.1 25.0

Benzodiazepines 13.2 12.9 6.2 8.8 5.9 3.8 11.4 10.5 5.6

Methamphetamine 0.0 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Houston

Cocaine 70.7 68.8 60.0 70.6 62.5 35.7 54.2 41.9 63.6

Marijuana 17.2 28.1 28.0 17.6 37.5 61.9 42.4 14.0 61.4

Benzodiazepines 25.9 28.1 20.0 5.9 20.8 9.5 23.7 27.9 34.1

Methamphetamine 1.7 3.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

New Orleans

Cocaine 75.5 75.6 70.0 61.4 80.0 71.6 68.5 72.6 69.0

Marijuana 28.6 22.0 20.0 52.3 37.8 44.8 56.2 59.4 56.3

Benzodiazepines 32.7 22.0 20.0 27.3 31.1 17.9 26.0 12.3 19.0

Methamphetamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

New York City

Cocaine 87.8 88.4 79.7 84.4 88.0 80.6 77.2 74.0 67.7

Marijuana 14.9 16.7 18.8 16.1 21.8 24.3 33.3 25.5 25.7

Benzodiazepines 12.2 7.2 8.3 4.0 7.7 6.8 12.3 10.4 10.4

Methamphetamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use 17

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 MALES % % % % % % % % %

Philadelphia

Cocaine 82.3 80.0 83.1 77.0 74.0 71.7 57.4 59.6 62.9

Marijuana 12.5 13.3 26.9 36.1 36.4 31.9 50.8 40.4 36.1

Benzodiazepines 38.5 35.8 36.9 38.5 42.2 36.3 24.6 22.8 35.1

Methamphetamine 1.0 0.0 1.5 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Phoenix

Cocaine 61.8 62.7 76.4 63.5 78.1 61.3 77.9 64.1 58.3

Marijuana 16.4 17.6 25.5 27.0 10.9 18.7 22.1 20.7 22.2

Benzodiazepines 5.5 3.9 7.3 6.3 7.8 5.3 7.0 1.1 5.6

Methamphetamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.8 10.9 9.3 2.3 10.9 11.1

Portland

Cocaine 57.4 60.0 78.7 66.7 59.1 58.9 67.2 70.0 51.7

Marijuana 37.2 18.8 13.5 27.6 27.0 22.7 31.1 37.8 29.7

Benzodiazepines 3.2 13.8 5.6 3.8 6.1 7.1 9.8 3.3 10.2

Methamphetamine 20.2 10.0 3.4 5.7 13.9 9.9 9.8 15.6 13.6

St. Louis

Cocaine 67.3 83.6 69.4 70.8 72.2 66.3 58.6 61.9 52.2

Marijuana 20.0 18.2 29.0 30.6 41.2 42.1 54.3 60.7 65.7

Benzodiazepines 18.2 23.6 16.1 16.7 17.5 10.5 14.3 14.3 13.4

Methamphetamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.1 0.0 1.2 0.0

San Diego

Cocaine 79.9 71.9 75.4 68.5 69.8 67.6 57.9 36.2 42.6

Marijuana 25.5 27.5 27.5 37.7 28.1 35.2 40.8 24.1 39.3

Benzodiazepines 18.5 18.1 14.8 15.4 8.3 12.7 14.5 25.9 11.5

Methamphetamine 15.2 4.4 14.8 30.8 26.0 15.5 25.0 27.6 31.1

Washington, D.C.

Cocaine 82.8 83.7 74.3 72.1 72.6 72.9 71.3 67.7 78.0

Marijuana 9.0 10.2 9.9 8.1 14.3 14.3 22.5 16.7 12.2

Benzodiazepines 16.4 11.2 9.9 8.1 10.7 7.1 3.8 8.3 7.3

Methamphetamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Table 5. Poly-Drug Use Among Opiate-Positive Arrestees for Selected Sites,

1990-98 (continued)

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 FEMALES % % % % % % % % %

Chicago*

Cocaine – – – – – – – – 78.4

Marijuana – – – – – – – – 16.2

Benzodiazepines – – – – – – – – 18.9

Methamphetamine – – – – – – – – 0.0

Dallas

Cocaine 80.0 80.6 71.4 72.7 64.5 85.0 64.1 66.7 54.5

Marijuana 10.0 13.9 28.6 27.3 9.7 20.0 15.4 27.8 36.4

Benzodiazepines 15.0 22.2 25.7 27.3 19.4 10.0 25.6 33.3 18.2

Methamphetamine 7.5 0.0 5.7 2.3 0.0 10.0 2.6 5.6 9.1

Detroit

Cocaine 69.0 69.2 77.6 67.9 66.7 80.8 76.2 66.7 90.0

Marijuana 6.9 10.3 4.5 7.1 11.1 3.8 14.3 5.6 15.0

Benzodiazepines 12.1 10.3 20.9 25.0 11.1 11.5 4.8 5.6 15.0

Methamphetamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Houston

Cocaine 65.6 66.7 66.7 50.0 57.7 38.5 44.4 40.9 46.2

Marijuana 3.1 13.3 0.0 18.8 19.2 46.2 50.0 27.3 26.9

Benzodiazepines 21.9 53.3 40.0 50.0 26.9 23.1 27.8 13.6 34.6

Methamphetamine 6.3 6.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.5 0.0

New Orleans

Cocaine 75.7 62.5 75.0 44.4 55.6 62.5 54.5 76.9 69.2

Marijuana 16.2 4.2 20.0 38.9 0.0 18.8 18.2 15.4 30.8

Benzodiazepines 32.4 50.0 35.0 27.8 44.4 31.3 27.3 53.8 30.8

Methamphetamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

New York City

Cocaine 92.2 81.9 85.1 85.1 87.5 83.1 80.0 80.7 84.5

Marijuana 6.3 6.0 6.8 13.2 12.5 9.6 12.2 11.4 16.1

Benzodiazepines 7.8 8.4 16.2 7.4 15.6 12.0 8.7 6.8 8.0

Methamphetamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0

18 1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use

* Chicago began collecting data from females in 1998.
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 FEMALES % % % % % % % % %

Philadelphia

Cocaine 68.6 71.1 88.5 70.7 80.5 72.7 80.0 74.1 67.3

Marijuana 9.8 15.8 7.7 22.4 15.9 14.5 20.0 18.5 21.2

Benzodiazepines 52.9 60.5 46.2 50.0 41.5 38.2 40.0 42.6 30.8

Methamphetamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Phoenix

Cocaine 59.0 71.4 82.6 70.7 79.1 70.4 86.1 69.4 61.1

Marijuana 11.5 11.2 10.5 14.7 14.9 9.9 12.5 10.2 22.2

Benzodiazepines 2.6 7.1 9.3 13.3 10.4 4.2 6.9 14.3 11.1

Methamphetamine 3.8 0.0 4.7 10.7 14.9 7.0 9.7 16.3 5.6

Portland

Cocaine 71.2 70.5 79.7 65.8 72.3 76.1 73.6 77.4 61.0

Marijuana 27.3 38.6 4.7 14.5 13.8 13.6 22.3 17.2 19.5

Benzodiazepines 10.6 9.1 9.4 7.9 10.6 8.0 9.1 5.4 18.3

Methamphetamine 9.1 13.6 7.8 6.6 14.9 11.4 8.3 14.0 15.9

St. Louis

Cocaine 68.0 75.0 69.2 70.8 90.6 66.7 68.8 71.4 50.0

Marijuana 4.0 12.5 23.1 29.2 15.6 20.0 12.5 28.6 12.5

Benzodiazepines 28.0 45.8 42.3 29.2 31.3 36.7 50.0 9.5 25.0

Methamphetamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.3 0.0 9.5 12.5

San Diego

Cocaine 67.8 73.2 72.3 61.3 44.2 72.5 43.8 44.2 17.6

Marijuana 12.2 13.4 18.5 17.5 19.2 15.0 25.0 18.6 23.5

Benzodiazepines 28.9 17.1 24.6 17.5 25.0 25.0 12.5 16.3 29.4

Methamphetamine 12.2 7.3 15.4 17.5 34.6 25.0 37.5 32.6 29.4

Washington, D.C.

Cocaine 82.6 86.5 90.0 92.2 85.7 81.6 87.2 62.2 68.4

Marijuana 4.3 3.8 5.0 0.0 0.0 8.2 12.8 15.6 10.5

Benzodiazepines 21.7 17.3 20.0 15.6 10.2 12.2 10.3 11.1 5.3

Methamphetamine 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use 19
showed concurrent cocaine/opiate user rates greater than 50 percent. In

1998, 19 of 23 male sites and 16 of 21 female sites witnessed similarly high

levels of cocaine/opiate use.

In an eff o rt to determine whether these high cocaine-positive rates re p re s e n t

powder or crack cocaine use, arrestees’ self-re p o rt of whether they had used

powder or crack cocaine within the past 72 hours was examined.8 Table 69

p resents the percentage of opiate positive arrestees who re p o rt using powder

cocaine, crack, or both powder cocaine and crack for select sites. During the

years 1990-98, the pro p o rtion of opiate-using arrestees who re p o rted using

powder cocaine declined and the pro p o rtion who re p o rted using crack

cocaine increased. Opiate-using arrestees re p o rted powder use more frequently than crack use in the 1990-96 period. However, beginning in 1997,

s e l f - re p o rted crack cocaine use began to dominate. Throughout, less than 10

p e rcent of opiate-positive arrestees re p orted using both powder and crack

cocaine within the past 72 hours.

The rate at which arrestees who use opiates also tested positive for marijuana has risen fairly consistently since 1990, from an average of 15.2 percent

in 1990 to an average of 29.7 percent in 1998. In 18 sites, the percentage

point change between 1990 and 1998 for opiate positive males was 5 percent or greater. In 15 sites, the marijuana-positive rate for opiate positive

females increased 5 percent or greater. In New Orleans, the frequency of

opiate users also testing positive for marijuana nearly doubled, rising from

28.6 percent in 1990 to 56.3 percent in 1998 for adult males, and 16.2 percent in 1990 to 30.8 percent in 1998 for adult females. Ten of the veteran

and 5 of the new sites showed more than 30 percent of opiate users also

20 1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use

8

In general, arrestees under-report drug use, although this pattern has changed slightly in 1998

when the ADAM procedures began to require interviewers to inform arrestees at the onset of the

interview of the need to provide a urine sample.

9

Sites were selected to illustrate regional patterns of self-report crack and powder cocaine use in

conjunction with opiate use. At least one site was selected from each region.
1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use 21

Table 6. Self-Reported (72 Hour) Powder and Crack Cocaine Use Among Opiate-Positive Arrestees for Selected Sites, 1990-98

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

% % % % % % % % %

Chicago

Powder 26.6 31.3 23.4 16.9 13.9 18.4 17.0 5.7 8.4

Crack 3.3 10.6 13.5 11.2 18.4 19.9 27.3 39.0 32.5

Both 1.7 4.5 4.2 1.6 3.7 4.6 8.8 1.4 4.2

Dallas

Powder 34.1 50.7 44.7 43.0 48.3 43.5 36.8 26.7 33.3

Crack 11.8 22.2 15.6 24.7 24.6 13.2 15.1 21.7 12.5

Both 8.8 17.1 11.8 15.1 17.2 11.8 11.6 16.7 4.2

Detroit

Powder 0.8 3.9 0.7 6.6 12.0 1.3 4.7 1.8 7.1

Crack 28.0 29.9 25.2 32.3 44.0 41.8 21.5 30.4 30.4

Both 0.8 1.0 0.7 4.9 8.3 1.3 3.1 1.8 7.1

Houston

Powder 25.6 27.7 21.1 9.1 6.3 11.5 9.3 20.4 10.1

Crack 13.5 19.1 17.9 18.2 14.3 13.0 19.5 17.6 8.7

Both 3.4 4.3 8.1 6.1 4.3 3.8 2.7 10.2 2.9

New Orleans

Powder 25.0 20.6 29.3 15.8 9.3 19.8 29.8 30.3 18.8

Crack 11.6 15.4 11.7 6.6 16.7 17.1 10.8 16.0 11.5

Both 2.4 4.8 3.4 1.8 3.7 5.0 1.2 8.4 2.9

New York City

Powder 45.5 45.4 35.4 28.4 21.8 23.3 31.6 34.1 19.8

Crack 29.9 35.9 25.2 32.0 34.9 26.4 23.8 25.4 32.0

Both 12.3 15.7 7.8 8.9 7.6 4.5 7.0 8.2 8.0

Philadelphia

Powder 36.3 26.5 31.7 21.5 23.5 15.6 14.9 9.9 10.7

Crack 18.4 22.2 33.5 26.4 27.1 32.1 37.6 40.5 36.9

Both 6.8 10.3 16.1 5.1 9.4 6.6 7.9 4.5 6.0
testing positive for marijuana in 1998, while only Portland had a level of

combined use that high in 1990. Male arrestees in two veteran sites

(Portland and San Jose) witnessed a decrease in marijuana-positive rates

among opiate-positive arrestees; female arrestees in three veteran sites

22 1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use

Table 6. Self-Reported (72 Hour) Powder and Crack Cocaine Use Among Opiate-Positive Arrestees for Selected Sites, 1990-98 (continued)

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

% % % % % % % % %

Phoenix

Powder 43.2 47.0 52.9 28.4 29.8 29.2 30.6 21.3 22.2

Crack 8.5 11.8 10.6 15.3 25.2 22.1 34.0 31.2 37.0

Both 5.4 9.0 8.6 6.0 12.2 13.3 15.4 11.3 14.8

Portland

Powder 33.8 38.7 54.2 41.1 30.6 34.5 31.7 36.6 30.0

Crack 4.4 7.3 11.3 11.7 10.5 13.5 15.2 21.9 19.0

Both 1.9 5.0 8.6 7.8 4.9 7.9 6.6 10.9 9.0

St. Louis

Powder 20.3 21.9 15.9 18.3 11.7 10.4 9.3 10.5 17.3

Crack 17.5 24.7 17.0 23.2 21.7 21.8 22.1 20.0 18.7

Both 8.9 9.7 5.7 5.4 5.5 4.0 5.8 3.8 9.3

San Diego

Powder 40.3 34.9 35.9 36.1 31.3 28.8 27.8 14.9 17.9

Crack 10.3 15.3 16.5 17.1 14.2 17.1 21.3 18.8 14.1

Both 7.4 9.1 10.7 11.5 10.2 6.3 11.1 5.9 3.8

Washington, D.C.

Powder 33.7 32.9 31.2 27.9 21.7 19.1 22.9 16.4 13.3

Crack 17.3 32.7 35.7 22.7 30.8 36.1 25.2 32.6 31.7

Both 6.3 9.7 14.4 8.2 8.5 7.8 7.6 7.1 6.7
1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use 23

(Indianapolis, Portland, and San Jose) witnessed decreases, with Birmingham

decreasing slightly by 1998.

Opiate-positive arrestees also tested positive for benzodiazepines, though at

lower levels than for cocaine or marijuana. From 1990 to 1998, the average

benzodiazepine-positive rate for opiate-positive arrestees hovered around 18

percent, from an average low of 15.5 percent in 1995 to an average high of

19.8 percent in 1991. 

Methamphetamine use among opiate users was generally quite low. However,

the average percentage of opiate users who also test positive for methamphetamine among new sites was 12.0 percent in 1998, compared to an average

methamphetamine rate of 4.4 percent for all veteran sites. In 1998, 25 percent

or more of opiate users in Las Vegas (males), San Diego (males and females),

San Jose (females), and Spokane (males and females) tested positive for

methamphetamine. 

Some sites report unusually high levels of specific drugs among their opiate

users. For example, Western sites that have higher rates of methamphetamine

positives in general have higher rates of combined opiate/methamphetamine

use as well. On the other hand, New York City reports that in 1998 more than

30 percent of its opiate-positive arrestees also test positive for methadone.

These findings suggest that there is value to analyzing the data at the local

level to better understand the context of local drug use patterns.

Summary

Our review of opiate use among ADAM participants suggests that opiate use

among arrestees has remained fairly stable during the past nine years. However, rates of testing positive for opiates vary considerably from site to site each

year. Several sites have witnessed reductions in the rate of opiate positives

among their arrestee populations, while one site (Philadelphia) has witnessed a

notable an increase in the proportion of arrestees testing positive for opiates.
In general, a higher proportion of female arrestees than male arrestees test positive for opiate use. Similarly, older arrestees are more likely than younger

arrestees to test positive for opiates. However, New Orleans and St. Louis have

experienced age shifts in the last few years; in these sites the youngest as

opposed to the oldest age categories are more likely to test positive for opiates.

Moreover, opiates are found throughout the U.S., somewhat more frequently in

the Northeast and Northwest. 

Many opiate users also use other drugs; from 1990-1998 almost 70 percent of

arrestees testing positive for opiates also test positive for cocaine and nearly 25

percent test positive for marijuana use. Although, in general, opiate-using

arrestees do not use methamphetamine, sites with high rates of methamphetamine also find users combining opiates and methamphetamine.

In the coming years, it will be important to monitor whether additional sites

begin to see a shift among opiate-positive arrestees to younger age cohorts as

well as the extent to which opiate-using arrestees continue to use other drugs.

There has been some concern in recent years that, as the price of heroin

decreases and purity increases, there will be a resurgence of use similar to that

seen in the late 1960s and early 1970s. That trend, to date, does not seem to be

widely reflected among ADAM arrestees.

24 1998 Annual Report on Opiate Use
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