The drop seems to have occured because of a significant decline in admissions for alcohol abuse; the bad news, however, is this period also witnessed an increase in admissions for methamphetamine use.
In 1993, the number of people treated for alcoholism numbered over 921,000. Almost every year since, that number has dropped; most notably in 2003, when admissions dropped to about 768,000.
Officials have warned against assuming alcohol abuse is becoming less of a problem in the U.S, as the trend may reflect shifts in state funds from treatment of alcohol abusers to treatment of drug abusers. The numbers reflect only those patients treated at facilities receiving public funding for treatment.
Treatment for methamphetamine use has soared nearly every year since '93, which saw 21,000 admissions. By 2003, there were 116,000 admissions related to methamphetamine abuse.
Charles Curie, administrator with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, said the increase in methamphetamine use can be explained by the drug's wide availability, ease of production, low cost and highly addictive nature.
