Injection Drug Use Update: 2002 & 2003 

The NSDUH Report:  Injection Drug Use Update: 2002 and 2003

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Highlights:

• Based on SAMHSA's 2002 and 2003 National Surveys on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH), an annual average of 354,000 persons (0.2%) aged 12 or older used a needle to inject heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines, or other stimulants during the past year.

• NSDUH data on needle sources indicated that 140,000 (39.5%) past year injection drug users bought a needle from a pharmacy the last time they injected drugs and 59,000 (16.7%) obtained a needle from a needle exchange program. About 73,000 (20.5%) were given their needle or stole it from another person and another 24,000 (6.8%) were given their needle or stole it from a location.

• The last time injection drug users used a needle for injecting drugs, 13.1% of past year injection drug users knew or suspected someone else had used the needle before them and 18.1% used a needle that someone used after them. An estimated 64.4% of past year injection drug users did not clean the needle with bleach before the last time they had used one to inject drugs.

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This Short Report,  The NSDUH Report:  Injection Drug Use Update: 2002 and 2003, is based on SAMHSA's  National Survey on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH), conducted by SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use & Health is the primary source of information on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse in the general U.S. civilian non institutionalized population, age 12 and older.   SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use & Health also provides estimates for drug use by State.