Substance Abuse Trends in Texas: June, 2008

Substance Abuse Trends in Texas: June, 2008 (click for full report)

This report updates indicators of drug abuse in Texas since the June 2007 report and describes trends by calendar year from 1987 through 2007. Important changes include increases in heroin inhalation by younger Hispanics. This was first noticed with the "cheese heroin" situation in Dallas, but further investigation has found that heroin inhalation is increasing statewide. Some treatment admissions are young teenagers, many of the users are not novices and are using other illicit drugs, and those in their twenties are shifting to injecting. Another change is decreases in methamphetamine indicators since 2005, with supplies down, price increasing, and purity decreasing. The influx of Mexican methamphetamine to replace the locally-produced product has not been as great as expected. With the higher price of Ice, the profit motive may encourage local manufacturers to return to cooking using over-the-counter pseudoephedrine. Other changes include continuing shifts in demographics of cocaine users and ecstasy users, severity of problems among non-coerced marijuana treatment admissions, increasing problems with alprazolam and carisoprodol, and possible reappearance of GHB. The majority of HIV and AIDS cases continue to be persons of color and more cases are now due to infection through the heterosexual route than due to injection drug use.