MINNEAPOLIS - (June 19, 2007) - Admissions to addiction treatment programs for methamphetamine declined in 2006, as did hospital emergency room cases and meth labs, reversing prior upward trends, according to a report on drug abuse trends released today by the Hazelden Foundation.

In 2006, a total of 1,612 patients at metro area addiction treatment programs reported meth as the primary substance problem (representing 8 percent of total treatment admissions). This compares with 2,465 meth patients in 2005 (12 percent of total treatment admissions that year). Methamphetamine-related hospital emergency department (ED) episodes in the Twin Cities also dropped markedly to 480 in 2006 compared with 1,402 in 2005. The number of statewide meth labs also declined in 2006.

"The dangerous and rapid growth in methamphetamine abuse is finally slowing down in the Twin Cities area," said Carol Falkowski, Hazelden's director of research communications and report author. "These trends are very encouraging."

Concerning other drugs, marijuana accounted for more admissions to treatment than any other illicit drug, and was frequently reported as a secondary or tertiary substance problem by patients in treatment for addiction to alcohol and drugs other than marijuana. Accidental overdose deaths from opiates outnumbered deaths from any other illicit drug. In hospital emergency departments, cocaine-related visits outnumbered those involving any other illicit drug, continuing a long-standing trend (2,307 reports of cocaine, 2,186 reports of marijuana, 682 reports of heroin).

Falkowski has written a report on Twin Cities drug abuse trends twice annually since 1986. This report is prepared as part of an epidemiological drug abuse-monitoring network comprised of drug abuse researchers in twenty U.S. cities.

Hazelden Foundation, a national nonprofit organization founded in 1949, helps people reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction. Hazelden offers a comprehensive approach to addiction that addresses the full range of patient, family, and professional needs, including treatment and continuing care, research, higher learning, public education and advocacy, and publishing. It has facilities in Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, and New York.

Read the June 2007 Drug Abuse Trends Report 

For more information, visit www.hazelden.org/research