Meth Use In California: VoterApproved Treatment Through the Criminal Justice System

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Meth Use In California Voter-Approved Treatment
Through the Criminal Justice System

• Darren Urada, Ph.D
• UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs
• Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human
  Behavior
• David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
• www.methamphetamine.org

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Methamphetamine as a percentage of all California
treatment admissions
Source California Alcohol Drug Data System
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How they enter treatmentSACPA is the most
common route
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What is SACPA?

• Passed by California Voters in November 2000
• Enacted into law as the Substance Abuse and Crime
  Prevention Act (SACPA) of 2000.
• If an adult is convicted of a drug offense or is
  under criminal justice supervision and commits a
  drug related violation, and if the adult meet
  other eligibility criteria, the offender is
  sentenced to supervision with substance abuse
  treatment rather than to a sentence of
  incarceration or supervision without treatment.

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Primary Drug Meth is by far the most common
primary drug among SACPA treatment clients
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Secondary Drug Among SACPA clients with alcohol
as the primary drug, meth is the most common
secondary drug.
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Demographics Among SACPA Meth Users

• 70 male, 30 female
• Half are in treatment for the first time
• 55 White, 34 Hispanic
• Median age 35

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Treatment Most SACPA clients get outpatient
treatment, regardless of drug
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Completion Meth users complete treatment at
rates comparable to or higher than users of other
illicit drugs
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Duration Meth users stay in treatment about as
long as cocaine, marijuana users, longer than
opiate users
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New drug arrests 3 ½ year followup
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New property arrests 3 ½ year followup
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New violent arrests 3 ½ year followup
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CONCLUSIONS

• Meth treatment demand in California has grown
  explosively since the early 1990s.
• SACPA has become a large part of the response.
• Compared to users of other illicit drugs, SACPA
  meth users
• Are not less likely to complete treatment.
• Do not spend less time in treatment.
• Are not re-arrested at higher rates.

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Contact Information

• Darren Urada, Ph.D.
• durada_at_ucla.edu
• www.uclaisap.org
• www.methamphetamine.org