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Chapter II (continued)
4. Heroin
Overall
usage — Heroin use in the United States appears to be declining
after an upward trend between 1992 and 1997. The estimated number
of current heroin users was 216,000 in 1996, 325,000 in 1997, and
130,000 in 1998.51
The number of past-year heroin users decreased significantly from
597,000 in 1997 to 253,000 in 1998. 52
There was also a statistically significant upward trend in the number
of new heroin users from 1992 to 1996. While not a statistically
significant change, there were 81,000 new heroin users in 1997,
down from 149,000 in 1996.53
Cautious evaluation of this data is necessary because the NHSDA
cannot accurately measure rare or stigmatized drug use, relying
as it does on self-reporting and on people residing in households.
In alternate research, the number of hardcore*
users of heroin in 1998 was estimated to be 980,000, compared to
935,000 in 1997 (not a statistically significant difference).54
Current
Heroin Use (Past-Month)
Source: SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (various years)
Injection
remains the most prevalent method of ingestion, particularly for
low-purity heroin. The increased availability of high-purity heroin
and the fear of infection from the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus
(HIV), sometimes transmitted through shared needles, has made snorting
and smoking the drug more common. In addition to avoiding the negative
stigma of intravenous drug use, some teenager heroin users smoke
or snort heroin under the false impression that such routes of admission
are less addictive.
Heroin
Initiation Rates
Source: SAMHSA, 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse
Use
among youth — In 1999, lifetime use of heroin was 2.3 percent
for eighth graders, 2.3 percent for tenth graders, and 2 percent
for twelfth graders. Between 1998 and 1999, heroin use did not change
in any grade level. However, lifetime use of heroin increased consistently
since 1991 when reported rates were 1.2 percent for eighth graders,
1.2 percent for tenth graders, and 0.9 percent for twelfth graders.
The average age of new heroin users has been dropping since 1994,
from 21.2 years to 17.6 years in 1997.55
Average
Age of First Heroin Use
Source: SAMHSA, 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse
Availability
— Heroin purity is a reflection of the drug's availability.
Unprecedented retail purity and low prices in the United States
indicate that heroin is readily accessible.56
When the drug is hard to find, it is cut with other substances.
High purity levels may also reflect changes in trafficking patterns.
A decrease in the number of middlemen involved in getting South
American and Mexican heroin to customers bypasses mid-level individuals
and minimizes cutting and adulteration that historically has reduced
heroin purity. For example, the Central Florida High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area reports heroin sampled from past-year seizures
with purity levels up to 97 percent.57
High purity can have devastating consequences - 119 heroin overdose
deaths occurred in Oregon during the first six months of 1999, a
75 percent increase compared to the first six months of 1998.58
Consumption-based modeling estimates that U.S. heroin availability
increased from 12.5 metric tons in 1998 to 12.9 metric tons in 1999.59
A supply-based approach has also been used to estimate heroin availability,
applying data from DEA's Heroin Signature Program and potential
production estimates. This methodology has resulted in an estimate
of 16 metric tons of domestically available heroin.
Average
Price For Heroin
*Based on annualized data through June 1998
Source: 1999 ONDCP-Adjusted from DEA STRIDE Data
Heroin
Purity at the Retail Level
<
*Based on annualized data through June 1998
Source: 1999 ONDCP-Adjusted from DEA STRIDE Data
Source: DEA, Federal-wide Drug Seizure Systems (FDSS)
*
Defined as one who used a controlled substance at least one or
two days every week during the past year or more than ten days
during the previous month.
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