Big Jump in Drug Use Found Among Men Booked Into San Diego Jails

SAN DIEGO COUNTY -- A whopping 76 percent of adult males arrested and booked into local jail in San Diego County tested positive for an illicit substance in 2015, eight percent higher than in 2014 and the highest level in 16 years, according to an annual substance abuse monitoring report released by the SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Division.

The report found that an increasing percentage of males were using methamphetamine and marijuana, with the percentage of males testing positive for meth jumping from 40 percent to 48 percent between 2014 and 2015, also a 16-year high.

Fifty-two percent of male arrestees tested positive for marijuana in 2015 – a seven percent increase from 2014 and another 16-year high. Twenty-four percent of arrestees reported ever obtaining a medical marijuana card.

About one in three (35 percent) male arrestees reported they commit crime to support a drug habit. This percentage was even higher (51 percent) among those who said they had previously been convicted of a felony. Of those who admitted to doing so, 90 percent said they committed property crime. When asked what drug they were under the influence of, the most common was meth (70 percent), followed by heroin (31 percent), and marijuana (23 percent).

Historically, a majority of those arrested and booked into jail test positive for drugs. Drug use is often related to other underlying issues, such as unemployment, homelessness and psychiatric disorders.

As a companion to the annual substance abuse monitoring report, the San Diego Association of Governments also released a brief titled "Methamphetamine Use by San Diego County Arrestees." Data included in the brief show that while meth use decreased slightly among female arrestees, it still remains higher than the positive rate among male arrestees (52 percent vs. 48 percent).

The typical meth user takes the drug five times a day, seven days in a row, and has been using 14 years on average. Sixty percent of meth users who go to school or have a job reported that they have gone there high.

As part of the substance abuse monitoring study, arrestees are approached (using a random sampling method) within 48 hours of their arrest and booking into jail. If the arrestee is available and willing to participate in a confidential survey/interview, she/he is asked a series of questions related to her/his drug use history and to provide a urine sample for drug testing.

In 2015, 469 male arrestees were interviewed at the Vista jail and Central San Diego jail, and 172 female arrestees at Las Colinas in Santee. Of these 641 arrestees, 617 completed the interview and also provided a valid urine sample for analysis.

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