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A project initiated by the ODMHSAS and implemented by the University of Oklahoma Department of Sociology has provided the first-ever documentation of actual drug usage among people arrested in Oklahoma County. The Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program (ADAM), funded with a National Institute of Justice grant, found that more than 70 percent of Oklahoma County arrestees, male and female, tested positive for illicit drugs in random urine analyses conducted at the county jail. Also, about 48 percent of men and 44 percent of women arrested in 1998 tested positive for marijuana--the highest percentage in the nation, said Kelly Damphousse, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma assistant professor of sociology and director of the ADAM project. On a positive note, however, research indicated almost no heroin use by arrestees in Oklahoma County, he added. Steve Davis, Ph.D., ODMHSAS director of evaluation and data analysis, said such information is vitally needed to help strengthen treatment and prevention programs. "The arrestee population is an important 'indicator' population, because it's very difficult to get people, in a telephone survey, to admit to taking illicit drugs--especially the 'harder' drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine," he said. "The arrestee population is more likely to show drug use than the general population. The ADAM project will allow us to obtain information about specific drug usage in this population, where drug use is high, and where more treatment services need to be focused." Operational in 35 cities nationwide, the ADAM project, by monitoring drug usage among arrestees, helps law enforcement and treatment providers better plan their services, said Davis. "The program also emphasizes greater collaboration between criminal justice and substance abuse treatment/prevention providers so that a true impact can be made on reducing substance abuse." For this reason, the Oklahoma County project also includes input from a committee composed of more than 20 area law enforcement groups, treatment and social services agencies, and legislators. Damphousse received an award recently at the national ADAM conference recognizing his efforts to establish the advisory group, as well as his other work on the Oklahoma project. His assistant site director, Jay Gilliam, was also honored as the nation's best ADAM interviewer. The Oklahoma County ADAM project began in July 1998. Every three months since, a team of researchers led by Damphousse has visited the Oklahoma County jail to interview a random sample of arrestees and to collect urine samples, which determine prevalence and types of drugs used. "This information plays an important role in assembling the national picture of drug abuse in the arrestee population and has helped us study the links between drug use and crime," said Damphousse. "Our results will allow policymakers and analysts to view trends as they develop, potentially permitting earlier intervention." Davis said the random sample encompasses all arrestees, so "those arrested for robbery are just as likely to be tested as those arrested for driving under the influence." The interview is designed not only to determine prevalence of drug use, but also to provide information on drug trafficking and manufacturing, and the relationship of drug use to criminal activity. "The ADAM project provides a lot of potentially useful information for law-enforcement and treatment personnel, as we are showing that people arrested for crimes seemingly unrelated to substance abuse are, in fact, in need of substance abuse treatment," Davis said. "People who are arrested for robbery, for instance, may be under the influence of drugs while they're committing the crime, or they are committing the robbery to get money to buy drugs." The Oklahoma County marijuana statistics, Damphousse noted, probably are the most important finding. "Obviously, Oklahoma County has a unique marijuana situation concerning arrestees. Perhaps more emphasis needs to be applied to this area." Other findings indicate that more than 25 percent of male arrestees--and 31 percent of female arrestees--test positive for more than one drug. Regarding cocaine use among Oklahoma County arrestees, males tested below the national average (33 percent) with 25 percent, but females tested higher than the national average (40 percent) at 43 percent. For methamphetamine use, 13.6 percent of males tested positive and 9.5 percent of females tested positive, both of which are higher than the national average (6.3 percent for men and 8.7 percent for women).
Posted July 2000 |
