Meth, Rx abuse treatments on the rise

WASHINGTON, Jul 19, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- U.S. officials have seen an alarming rise in the number of people admitted to hospitals for treatment of methamphetamine and prescription pain-killer addiction, new government statistics reveal.

Nearly 117,000 people entered hospitals and clinics in the United States for treatment of methamphetamine addiction in 2003 -- the latest year available -- a 10-percent increase from the year before. Treatments for abuse of narcotic pain killers such as OxyContin rose 12 percent to more than 48,000 in 2003, according to data compiled by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Several states -- including Arkansas, California and Utah -- saw their rates of methamphetamine admissions jump more than 20 percent, the agency said.

Methamphetamine, which is highly addictive, was tried by 12.3 million Americans in 2003, equal to 5.2 percent of the population over age 12.

Officials also have seen a steep rise in prescription-drug abuse. Nearly 3 million people over age 12, including 4.5 percent of high-school seniors, claimed to have used OxyContin without a doctor's orders in 2003. Just under 2 million people had reported using the drug illegally in 2002.

"The alarming growth of methamphetamine use and, in part, its popularity, can be explained by the drug's wide availability, ease of production, low cost and its highly addictive nature," Charles Curie, director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said at a news briefing.

Methamphetamine impacts heavily in rural areas, where illegal manufacturers can easily obtain the fertilizer and other chemicals needed to make it in illicit labs. Farming areas also give manufacturers the chance to concoct methamphetamine with little fear of detection by way of chemical odors or lab waste.

A recent National Association of Counties survey pegged methamphetamine as the most serious local drug problem facing local officials. The NACo survey, completed earlier this month, revealed 58 percent of local law-enforcement agencies called methamphetamine their most serious drug problem. The organization has complained that Bush administration drug officials are not doing enough to help address illegal methamphetamine abuse and commerce in local jurisdictions.

Methamphetamine is rapidly addictive and can cause serve personality shifts in users. NACo officials have cited high rates of child neglect among parents using the drug, as well as sharp rises in crime related to methamphetamine manufacturing and sales.

Dr. Brian Cook, a professor of psychiatry and an addiction specialist at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, said treatment for methamphetamine use has spiked in his region.

"A decade ago it was a trickle, and now it's a very common cause for admission," Cook told United Press International. "Alcohol used to be the primary cause for admission, now it's slipped between alcohol and methamphetamine."

The new data were compiled from the agency's Treatment Episode Data Set, which culls state reports of drug treatments and aggregates them for national figures.

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Todd Zwillich covers healthcare policy matters for UPI Science News. E-mail: sciencemail@upi.com