Treatment On Rise For Alcohol, Pot, Opiates

A new report on drug and alcohol treatment over the past decade shows a rise in people seeking treatment for alcohol, marijuana and opiate abuse.

The report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) looked at treatment admissions for people age 12 and older from 1999 to 2009.

Opiate addiction rose dramatically — from 8% of all treatment admissions in 1999 to 33% in 2009. Most of those were for prescription drug addiction.

The alcohol numbers were interesting. Admissions stood at 48% in 1999. By mid-decade that number slid to 39%. But then it started to increase, finishing at 42% in 2009.

Admissions for marijuana rose from 13% to 18% over the ten year period.

“This new report shows the challenge our nation’s health system must address as the treatment needs of people with drug and alcohol problems continue to evolve,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “People often arrive in treatment programs with multiple problems – including dependency or addiction to multiple substances of abuse. As health care reform continues to improve the delivery of health services in our country, this type of information will increasingly be used to inform the needs of an integrated system of care.”

The report was not all bad news. Cocaine admissions fell from 14% to 9%.

Methamphetamine/amphetamines admissions rose from 4% to 9% in 2005, but then dropped to 6% by 2009.