GCSA-Washington Roundup

2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse Finds Increase in Illicit Drug Use and Driving While Intoxicated

On September 5th the annual National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) was released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Overall, the survey revealed in 2001 an estimated 15.9 million Americans age 12 years or older used an illicit drug during the month immediately prior to the survey interview and indicated increases in the use of marijuana, cocaine, pain relievers and tranquilizers. According to the survey 7.3% of the population, or an estimated 16.6 million persons age 12 or older, were classified with dependence on or abuse of either alcohol or illicit drugs in 2001. The NHSDA survey interviews approximately 70,000 people age 12 years or older, in every State, over a 12-month period and is the primary source of information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco by the civilian, noninstitutionalized population in the United States. This survey provides a one-year snapshot of the problem of drug abuse in America.

Illicit Drug Use

o The percent of the population that were current users of illicit drugs increased from 6.3 percent in 2000 to 7.1 percent in 2001. There were significant increases in the use of particular drugs or groups of illicit drugs with the most significant increase being marijuana (from 4.8 to 5.4 percent). Other increases included cocaine (0.5 to 0.7) and the non-medical use of pain relievers (1.2 to 1.6 percent) and tranquilizers (0.4 to 0.6 percent).o There was an increase in the number of youth aged 12 to 17 that were current drug users (10.8 percent in 2001 as opposed to 9.7 percent in 2000) and in adults age 18 to 25 years (15.9 percent in 2000 to 18.8 percent in 2001).

Alcohol Use

o While there were no significant changes found in heavy or binge drinking between 2000 and 2001, the number of persons reported driving under the influence increased from 10.0 to 11.1 percent between 2000 and 2001. In 2001, more than 1 in 10 Americans or 25.1 million persons reported driving under the influence of alcohol at least once in the 12 months prior to the interview.
o The rate of alcohol use and number of drinkers between 2000 and 2001 increased with almost half of all Americans age 12 or older, 48.3 percent or 109 million persons, estimated as current drinkers.

Substance Dependence or Abuse
o The number of persons with substance dependence or abuse increased from 14.5 million (6.5 percent of the population) in 2000 to 16.6 million (7.3 percent) in 2001.

o The estimated number of persons age 12 or older needing treatment for an illicit drug problem increased significantly between 2000 and 2001 from 4.7 million to 6.1 million.

o The number of persons needing but not receiving treatment increased from 3.9 million to 5.0 million. Of the 5.0 million people who needed but did not receive treatment in 2001, an estimated 377,000 reported that they felt they needed treatment for their drug problem, including an estimated 101,000 who said they made an effort to get treatment but were unable to and 276,000 who reported making no effort to get treatment.

Mental Illness and Substance Abuse Problems
o Of the adults with serious mental illness in 2001, 20.3 percent were dependent on or abused alcohol or illicit drugs. In addition, there were an estimated 3.0 million adults with both serious mental illness and substance abuse or dependence problems during the year.

o In 2001, an estimated 4.3 million youths age 12 to 17 received treatment or counseling for emotional or behavioral problems in the 12 months prior to the survey interview. This number represents 18.4 percent of the population, and is significantly higher than the 14.6 percent estimate for 2000.

o The rate of mental health treatment was higher among youths who used illicit drugs in the past year than among youths who did not use illicit drugs (26.2 percent versus 16.3 percent).

Appropriations Update on the FY 2003 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Funding Bill

Congress has returned from its August recess and may soon consider the FY 2003 funding bill. As previously reported the Senate Appropriations Committee's bill provided substantial increases for drug and alcohol treatment and research; restored the deep cut to the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention; and increased the State Grants portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Program. However, the House Appropriations Subcommittee has a different and substantially less generous overall funding allocation than the Senate Subcommittee, and it is therefore possible that the House bill will contain significantly fewer funding increases and potentially harsh funding cuts for many programs. Congressional staff have indicated that substantial grassroots advocacy is required for programs to maintain funding gains made in the Senate bill as the appropriations process moves forward in the House.