Ms. Casteel spoke with numerous researchers to explain how limited data sources may underestimate the extent of the drug epidemic in the U.S.
“Heroin overdose deaths have risen more than sixfold in less than a decade and a half,” she wrote. “Yet according to one of the most widely cited sources of data on drug use, the number of Americans using heroin has risen far more slowly.”
The source, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, collects information on tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs through interviews with roughly 70,000 participants. However, researchers worry the data is an “inadequate” representation of stigmatized drugs like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines. It also doesn’t capture responses from all demographics, including the homeless population.
Another data source experts rely on is the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring system, a federal program that conducted interviews with recent male arrestees to gather information related to drug use and treatment. . However, the program faced cuts in the mid-2000s before it was eliminated in 2013. Many other databases have faced similar cuts, elimination or have gone without updates, according to Ms. Casteel.
Ms. Casteel emphasized although many experts believe existing national surveys underreport the number of hard drug users in the nation, they rely on them anyway, since they represent the best data available.
“We need to have public safety, public health partnerships.” Daniel Ciccarone, PhD, a professor at UC San Francisco School of Medicine told Ms. Casteel. “We need the government to be forthright. We need it to think that researchers and public health officials are on the same side as the people who also want to stop the drugs.”
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