Amphetamine Use Soars in California, Study Finds : Health: Epidemic primarily involves young, white males. The researchers studied hospital admissions.

The use of amphetamines has skyrocketed in California in the last decade, according to a new report being issued today.

During the 10 years ending in 1993, amphetamine-related hospital admissions, a commonly accepted indicator of drug use, increased 366% in the state, according to a report produced by the nonprofit Public Statistics Institute in Irvine. The sharpest rises occurred in 1992 and 1993.

The results, the researchers said, confirm suspicions that the relatively inexpensive and widely available family of illegal drugs, particularly methamphetamine and XTC, are becoming a major problem.

Amphetamine use in three regions--Sacramento County, San Bernardino County and five Central California counties--increased more than 1,000% during the period, while use in five other regions, including Riverside and San Diego counties, increased more than 500%.

Surprisingly, Los Angeles County was well below the statewide average with a 245% rise, while Orange County was slightly above average with a 473% increase.

The epidemic is centered mainly on young, white males. Caucasians outnumbered other races four to one in hospital admissions and males outnumbered females two to one. Nearly 60% of the admissions were of people under age 35.

“These findings are a wake-up call,” said psychologist James K. Cunningham, study author and director of the institute. “Amphetamine is fast becoming the drug of the ‘90s.”

“This is as good a profile [of amphetamine use] in real time as we could have,” said Andy Mecca, director of the state Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. “It certainly validates what we have been empirically observing. . . . We have got a new rising epidemic.”

Methamphetamine--commonly known as speed, crank or, in a highly purified form, ice--and XTC produce euphoric effects that last longer than those of cocaine. The drugs can be snorted, smoked, injected or swallowed. They are competitively priced and widely available.

California is “unfortunately, the clandestine methamphetamine capital of the world,” Mecca said.

Methamphetamines are also widely perceived to be safer than cocaine. “But that is not necessarily correct,” Cunningham said.

Health problems that can result from using amphetamines include nervousness, irritability, restlessness, paranoia, psychosis, chest pains, irregular heartbeat and seizures.

Cunningham and Margaret A. Thielemeir studied computerized records from the California Hospital Discharge Data System, which has recorded data about every admission to non-federal hospitals in California since 1983--more than 35 million admissions. They restricted their search to emergency admissions to acute-care hospitals, which they reasoned would give the most comprehensive and balanced picture of patients both with and without insurance.

In looking specifically at records for admissions that cited a reaction to amphetamines, they found a 366% leap, from 1,466 in 1984 to 6,834 in 1993, the most recent year for which data was available. But these cases represent “only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, in that they are far outnumbered by light to moderate cases of amphetamine [illnesses]” that don’t require a trip to the emergency room, Cunningham said.

That growth is higher than in most other regions of the country, probably because there are so many clandestine labs here, Mecca said.

The increase was not steady over time. The number of admissions climbed slowly during the 1980s, then dropped somewhat in 1990 and 1991, before jumping about 100% in 1992 and 1993.

Cunningham attributed the temporary drop to new laws, passed in 1989, controlling the availability of the precursor chemicals used to make the drugs. “But [drug labs] are now getting the precursor chemicals elsewhere,” he said.

The greatest increase was 1,742% in Central California (Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa and Tulare counties), followed by 1,285% in Sacramento County and 1,250% in San Bernardino County.

The figures in those areas, Cunningham and Mecca agreed, probably reflect the fact that they are prime locations for clandestine labs--rural regions where chemical odors go unnoticed, where chemicals can be imported from Mexico and where the closest neighbors may be miles away and pay little attention to unusual activities.

Dan Hicks of the Public Statistics Institute noted that the research has important implications for policy-makers and treatment professionals. “The so-called War on Drugs seems to be ending, but this report indicates that serious drug problems continue to grow,” he said. “We’ve yet to mobilize an effort that can adequately deal with the current epidemic of speed.”

“The report speaks to the need for more efforts on prevention,” Cunningham added. “We need to let young people know that amphetamine use is harmful--that it is definitely not stylish.”

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Rise in Amphetamine Use

From 1984 through 1993, amphetamine use increased 366% in the state.

Areas of Greatest Increase:

Increased by more than 1000%

Increased more than 500%

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In Santa Barbara and Ventura counties (combined), the increase was 300%

In Los Angeles County, the increase was 245%

In Orange County, the increase was 473%