Drug Abuse Trends in Honolulu and the State of Hawaii: June 2013
D. William Wood, M.P.H., Ph.D.
Summary of key findings for the 2012 Reporting Period:
- Total statewide primary treatment admissions were stable.
- Overall Honolulu Police Department (HPD) drug-related arrest activity decreased.
Overdose Deaths
Heroin indicators were mixed during the year; heroin-related deaths in Oahu increased (as did all opiate-related deaths).
Treatment admissions/deaths
Statewide primary treatment admissions were low but increasing. Treatment admissions for marijuana were increasing, and Medical Examiner decedent toxicology reports with THC (tetrahydrocannbinol) also increased.
Police arrests
Overall police arrests in Honolulu decreased, particularly marijuana arrests declined from 2011.
Drug Seizures
The NFLIS method for processing and counting National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS) reports from drug items sized and analyzed changed in 2012; this resulted in a higher number of reports per analyzed drug item than in previous years. Methamphetamine and cocaine reports from drug items seized and analyzed in laboratories were again lower than in previous years, while marijuana reports among drug items seized and analyzed increased. MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) returned to the top 10 NFLIS reports for 2012, ranking fifth among reports.