This report presents national-level data from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) for admissions in 2009 and trend data for 1999 to 2009. The report provides information on the demographic and substance abuse characteristics of admissions to treatment aged 12 and older for abuse of alcohol and/or drugs in facilities that report to individual State administrative data systems.

For 2009, 1,963,089 substance abuse treatment admissions aged 12 and older were reported to TEDS by 49 States and Puerto Rico. (Georgia and the District of Columbia did not report admissions for 2009.)

Major Substances of Abuse

• Five substance groups accounted for 96 percent of the 1,963,089 TEDS admissions aged 12 and older in 2009: alcohol (42 percent), opiates (21 percent), marijuana (18 percent), cocaine (9 percent), and methamphetamine/amphetamines (6 percent) [Table 1.1b].

Alcohol

• Alcohol admissions declined steadily from 48 percent of admissions aged 12 and older in 1999 to 39 percent in 2005, but then increased steadily to 42 percent in 2009. In 2009, 44 percent of primary alcohol admissions aged 12 and older reported secondary drug abuse as well [Table 1.1b].
• Admissions for abuse of alcohol alone represented 23 percent of TEDS admissions aged 12 and older in 2009, while admissions for primary alcohol abuse with secondary drug abuse represented 18 percent¹ [Table 1.1b].
• Almost three-quarters of admissions for abuse of alcohol alone and for abuse of alcohol with secondary drug abuse were male (73 percent each) [Table 2.1a].
• The average age at admission among alcohol-only admissions was 40 years compared with 36 years among admissions for primary alcohol with secondary drug abuse [Table 2.1a].
• More than two-thirds (68 percent) of alcohol-only admissions were non-Hispanic White, followed by admissions of Hispanic origin (13 percent) and non-Hispanic Blacks (12 percent). Among admissions for alcohol with secondary drug abuse, 59 percent were non-Hispanic White, followed by 23 percent who were non-Hispanic Black and 11 percent who were of Hispanic origin [Table 2.2].

Heroin

• Heroin admissions increased from 15 percent of admissions aged 12 and older in 1999 to 16 percent in 2001. They declined to 14 percent in 2005 and remained there through 2009 [Table 1.1b].
• Heroin represented 92 percent of all opiate admissions in 1999 but declined steadily to 67 percent in 2009 [Table 1.1b].
• About two-thirds (67 percent) of primary heroin admissions were male [Table 2.1a].
• For primary heroin admissions, the average age at admission was 35 years [Table 2.1a].
• More than half (59 percent) of primary heroin admissions were non-Hispanic White, followed by 20 percent who were non-Hispanic Black and 19 percent who were of Hispanic origin [Table 2.2].
• Sixty-seven percent of primary heroin admissions reported injection as the route of administration, and 29 percent reported inhalation [Table 2.4].

Opiates Other than Heroin²

• Opiates other than heroin increased steadily from 1 percent of admissions aged 12 and older in 1999 to 7 percent in 2009 [Table 1.1b].
• Opiates other than heroin represented 8 percent of all opiate admissions in 1999 but rose to 33 percent in 2009 [Table 1.1b].
• Just over half (54 percent) of primary non-heroin opiate admissions were male [Table 2.1a].
• For primary non-heroin opiate admissions, the average age at admission was 31 years [Table 2.1a].
• Most primary non-heroin opiate admissions (88 percent) were non-Hispanic White [Table 2.2].
• Two-thirds (66 percent) of primary non-heroin opiate admissions reported oral as the route of administration, while 18 percent reported inhalation and 13 percent reported injection [Table 2.4].

Marijuana/Hashish

• Marijuana admissions increased from 13 percent in 1999 to 18 percent in 2009 [Table 1.1b].
• Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of primary marijuana admissions were male [Table 2.1a].
• For primary marijuana admissions, the average age at admission was 24 years [Table 2.1a].
• Almost half (48 percent) of primary marijuana admissions were non-Hispanic White, 31 percent were non-Hispanic Black, and 16 percent were of Hispanic origin [Table 2.2].

Cocaine/Crack

• Cocaine admissions declined from 14 percent in 1999 to 9 percent in 2009. Smoked cocaine (crack) represented 72 percent of all primary cocaine admissions in 2009, down from 73 percent in 1999 [Table 1.1b].
• Fifty-seven percent of primary smoked cocaine admissions were male compared with 66 percent of primary non-smoked cocaine admissions [Table 2.1a].
• The average age at admission among smoked cocaine admissions was 40 years compared with 36 years among non-smoked cocaine admissions [Table 2.1a].
• Among primary smoked cocaine admissions, 53 percent were non-Hispanic Black, 36 percent were non-Hispanic White, and 8 percent were of Hispanic origin. Among primary non-smoked cocaine admissions, 49 percent were non-Hispanic White, followed by non-Hispanic Blacks (28 percent) and admissions of Hispanic origin (19 percent) [Table 2.2].
• Eighty percent of primary non-smoked cocaine admissions reported inhalation as their route of administration and 11 percent reported injection [Table 2.4].

Methamphetamine/Amphetamines

• Methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions increased from 4 percent of all admissions in 1999 to 9 percent in 2005, but then decreased to 6 percent in 2009 [Table 1.1b].
• For primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions, the average age at admission was 33 years [Table 2.1a].
• Fifty-four percent of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions were male [Table 2.1a].
• About two-thirds (67 percent) of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions were non-Hispanic White, followed by 20 percent who were of Hispanic origin [Table 2.2].
• Sixty-four percent of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions reported smoking as the route of administration, 21 percent reported injection, and 8 percent reported inhalation [Table 2.4].

Adolescent Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment

• TEDS data indicate that the number of admissions to substance abuse treatment aged 12 to 17 increased by 15 percent between 1999 and 2002, but declined by 5 percent between 2002 and 2009 [Table 3.1a].
• Almost half (49 percent) of adolescent treatment admissions were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system [Table 3.3].
• About 6 in 7 (86 percent) of adolescent treatment admissions involved marijuana as a primary or secondary substance [Table 3.4].

Trends in Heroin Admissions and Medication-Assisted Opioid Therapy

• The proportion of non-Hispanic Whites aged 20 to 34 among heroin admissions increased from just over 1 in 5 (22 percent) in 1999 to almost 2 in 5 (38 percent) in 2009 [Table 3.5].
• The proportion of injectors aged 20 to 34 among heroin admissions increased from 1 in 4 (25 percent) in 1999 to almost 2 in 5 (37 percent) in 2009. During that period, the proportion of injectors aged 35 to 44 fell from 24 percent to 14 percent [Table 3.6].
• The proportion of heroin admissions with treatment plans that included receiving medication-assisted opioid therapy fell from 38 percent in 1999 to 28 percent in 2009 [Table 3.7].

Polydrug Abuse

• Polydrug abuse was reported by 54 percent of all TEDS admissions aged 12 and older in 2009 [Table 3.8].
  • Alcohol, opiates, and methamphetamine/amphetamines were reported more often as primary substances than as secondary or tertiary substances (alcohol: 42 vs. 19 percent; opiates: 21 vs. 8 percent; methamphetamine/amphetamines: 6 vs. 4 percent).
  • Marijuana and cocaine were reported more often as secondary or tertiary substances than as primary substances (marijuana: 20 vs. 18 percent; cocaine: 15 vs. 9 percent).

Race/Ethnicity

Alcohol was the most frequently reported primary substance at treatment admission among all racial/ethnic groups except admissions of Puerto Rican origin. However, the proportions reporting primary use of the other four most common substances varied considerably by racial/ethnic group [Table 2.2].

• Among non-Hispanic Whites, alcohol (45 percent) was followed by opiates (25 percent), marijuana (14 percent), methamphetamine/amphetamines (7 percent), and cocaine (6 percent).
• Among non-Hispanic Blacks, alcohol (34 percent) was followed by marijuana (26 percent), cocaine (21 percent), opiates (15 percent), and methamphetamine/amphetamines (1 percent).
• Among persons of Mexican origin, alcohol (40 percent) was followed by marijuana (23 percent), methamphetamine/amphetamines (16 percent), opiates (13 percent), and cocaine (6 percent).
• Among persons of Puerto Rican origin, opiates (43 percent) were followed by alcohol (29 percent), marijuana (16 percent), cocaine (9 percent), and methamphetamine/amphetamines (1 percent).
• Among American Indians/Alaska Natives, alcohol (67 percent) was followed by marijuana (13 percent), opiates (9 percent), methamphetamine/amphetamines (6 percent), and cocaine (3 percent).
• Among Asians/Pacific Islanders, alcohol (40 percent) was followed by marijuana (21 percent), methamphetamine/amphetamines (20 percent), opiates (11 percent), and cocaine (6 percent).
  

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