Heroin Statistics

Heroin Statistics: According to Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) emergency department (ED) data, there were 93,064 reported mentions of heroin in 2001, an increase of 47.4% since 1994.

Heroin Statistics: Preliminary ED data for the first half of 2002 revealed that there were 42,571 mentions of heroin. A drug mention refers to a substance that was recorded (mentioned) during a visit to the ED. Heroin represented 15% of 638,484 total ED episodes in 2001. Approximately 56% of heroin ED mentions were for people ages 35 and older. Almost half (43%) of heroin ED mentions were for whites.

Heroin Statistics: According to DAWN.s 2001 mortality data, of the 42 metropolitan areas studied, 19 areas saw a decrease in the number of heroin/morphine mentions, while 9 areas reported an increase in heroin/morphine mentions.

Heroin Statistics: Although it is difficult to obtain an exact number of heroin users because of the transient nature of this population, several surveys have attempted to provide estimates. A rough estimate of the hardcore addict population in the United States places the number between 750,000 and 1,000,000 users.

Heroin Statistics: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Household Survey on Drug Abuse found that, in 2001, approximately 3.1 million Americans (1.4%) 12 years old and older had used heroin at least once in their lifetime. People ages 18 to 25 reported the highest percentage of lifetime heroin use with 1.6% in 2001.

Heroin Statistics: According to the University of Michigan.s Monitoring the Future Study in 2002, 1.6% of 8th graders, 1.8% of 10th graders, and 1.7% of 12th graders surveyed reported using heroin at least once during their lifetime. That study also showed that 0.9% of 8th graders, 1.1% of 10th graders, and 1% of 12th graders reported using heroin in the past year.

Heroin Statistics: Among college students surveyed in 2001, 1.2% reported using heroin during their lifetime and 0.1% reported using heroin in the 30 days before being surveyed. Of those young adults surveyed between ages 19 and 28, 2% reported using heroin during their lifetime and 0.3% reported using heroin within the 30 days before being surveyed.

Heroin Statistics: In another study, of those high school students surveyed in 2001 as part of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 3.1% reported using heroin at least once during their lifetime. Male students (3.8%) were more likely than female students (2.5%) to report lifetime heroin use.

Heroin Statistics: According to What America.s Users Spend on Illegal Drugs, heroin expenditures were an estimated $22 billion in 1990, and decreased to $10 billion in 2000.

Heroin Statistics: During 1990, Americans consumed 13.6 metric tons of heroin. Current estimates of heroin consumption remain relatively unchanged and show that 13.3 metric tons of heroin were consumed in 2000.

Heroin Statistics: According to the National Drug Intelligence Center.s National Drug Threat Assessment 2003, heroin is cultivated from opium poppies in four source areas: South America, Mexico, and Southeast and Southwest Asia. Opium cultivation decreased from 5,082 metric tons during 2000 to 1,255 metric tons during 2001. This led to a reduction in heroin production from 482.2 metric tons during 2000 to 109.3 metric tons during 2001.

Heroin Statistics: South American heroin is the most prevalent type of heroin in the United States. Colombian criminal groups, operating independently of major cocaine cartels, dominate the smuggling of South American heroin into the United States. Others involved in the transportation of South American heroin include Bahamian, Dominican, Guatemalan, Haitian, Jamaican, and Puerto Rican criminal groups.

Heroin Statistics: During 2001, wholesale prices for South American heroin ranged from $50,000 to $250,000 per kilogram. Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin wholesale prices ranged from $35,000 to $120,000 per kilogram, and Mexican heroin ranged from $15,000 to $65,000 per kilogram. Street-level heroin usually sells for $10 per dose, although prices vary throughout the country.

Heroin Statistics: According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), during 2000, retail purity levels of heroin ranged from 48.1% for South American heroin, to 34.6% for Southwest Asian heroin, to 20.8% for Mexican heroin. The national average purity for retail heroin from all sources was 36.8%.

Heroin Statistics: From October 1, 1999, to September 30, 2000, there were 3,557 arrests by DEA for opiates out of 38,411 total drug arrests. These figures represent only DEA.s portion of heroin arrests nationwide during 2000.

Heroin Statistics: The number of past-month heroin users nearly tripled from 68,000 in 1993 to 208,000 in 1999.

Heroin Statistics: It is estimated that there were 149,000 new heroin users in 1998 with nearly 80% under the age of 26.

Heroin Statistics: The mean age of first use of heroin declined from 26 years in 1992 to 21.3 in 1998, which indicates that more young people are using the drug. At the same time, 73.7% of 10th graders thought that trying heroin was a .great risk.. the highest percentage recorded in five years.

Heroin Statistics: Over 80% of heroin users inject with a partner, yet 80% of the overdoses victims found by paramedics are alone at the time they are found.

Heroin Statistics: The average heroin addict spends between $150 and $200 per day to maintain a heroin addiction.

Heroin Statistics: In 1998, 65% of the heroin seized in the United States originated in South America and another 17% came from Mexico.