Washington State Department of Social and Health Services

Research & Data Analysis Division

Substance Use by Recency

Separate tables for lifetime, past year, and past 30 day substance use are presented for each county.

The image below shows past year rates of substance use for King County expressed as both the number of adults in King County and as a percentage of that population. Each row describes a different substance. In the first two columns we provide rates of substance use for the entire adult household population. The next four columns provide a breakdown by poverty status. The last two columns provide data for lower-income adults in Washington State.

This image shows past year rates of substance use for King County

For past year use of Any Illicit Drug, the table indicates that:

  1. 9.4 percent of the King County adult household population used an illicit drug during the past year. This percentage means that 126,288 adults were estimated to have used an illicit drug during the past year.
  2. Use of any illicit drug was lower (8.6 percent) among King County adults who were above 200% of the federal poverty level. This percentage means that 93,819 higher-income adults were estimated to have used an illicit drug during the past year.
  3. Use of any illicit drug was higher (12.8 percent) among adults who were at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. This percentage means that 32,469 lower-income adults were estimated to have used an illicit drug during the past year 1.
  4. Across the entire state, past year use of any illicit drug among lower-income adults was 12.7 percent. This percentage means that, statewide, 134,929 lower-income adults were estimated to have used an illicit drug during the past year.

Estimates by Demographics

A number of tables, at both the country and state level, present estimates for different demographic groups. In the example below, we present rates of current need for substance abuse treatment in King County by gender, age, and race/ethnicity. Rates are expressed as a percentage of the adult population and as an estimate of the total number of adults in King County. Each row describes a different demographic group (e.g., males). In the first two columns we provide rates for current need for treatment for the entire adult household population. The next four columns provide a breakdown by poverty status. The last two columns provide data for lower-income adults in Washington State.

This image present rates for treatment for substance abuse treatment in King County by gender, age, and race/ethnicity

For current need for treatment among males, we see that:

  1. 14.1 percent of adult males in King County currently need substance abuse treatment. This percentage means that there were 93,160 males estimated to need substance abuse treatment in 2003.
  2. 12.7 percent of higher-income males in King County currently need substance abuse treatment. This percentage means that 69,472 higher-income males were estimated to need substance abuse treatment in 2003.
  3. 21.0 percent of lower-income males in King County currently need substance abuse treatment. This percentage means that 23,688 higher-income males were estimated to need substance abuse treatment in 2003 1.
  4. Across the entire state, 21.4 percent of lower-income males currently need substance abuse treatment. This percentage means that, statewide, 98,974 lower-income males were estimated to need substance abuse treatment in 2003.

Treatment Penetration

Treatment penetration estimates by demographics are presented for each county. The estimates are calculated by combining survey estimates with data from DASA's Treatment and Assessment Report Generation Tool (TARGET).

The example below identifies treatment penetration estimates for King County by gender, age and race/ethnicity.

This image identifies treatment penetration estimates for King County by gender, age and race/ethnicity

For treatment penetration among King County males we see that:

  1. An estimated 23,688 lower-income males in King County currently need substance abuse treatment.
  2. 14,306 of these lower-income males (from column 1) are eligible for DASA-funded treatment.
  3. TARGET data indicate that 2,808 King County males received DASA-funded services in 2003.
  4. The treatment penetration rate among King County males is 19.6 percent. We obtain this estimate by simply dividing the number of males served (column 3) by the number of males eligible for DASA-funded services (column 2).
  5. The last column compares this to the overall state level. We see that the treatment penetration rate for Washington state males is 22.7 percent.

Age of First Use

Age of first use estimates by demographics are provided at the state level. Because of the number of columns necessary to present this information, separate tables provide poverty status detail. It is important to note that estimates in these tables only include adults aged 21+.

Below we present state-level age of first alcohol use estimates.

This image present state-level age of first alcohol use estimates.

For age of first use among males 21+, we see that:

  1. 22.0 percent of males first used alcohol before the age of 15.
  2. 33.1 percent of males first used alcohol between the ages of 15 and 17.
  3. 23.7 percent of males first used alcohol between the ages of 18 and 20.
  4. 12.9 percent of males first used alcohol after age 21.
  5. 8.3 percent of males have never used alcohol.

Note

1 Roughly 1 out of 4 adults is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Therefore, identical percentages of lower-income and higher-income adults will translate to fewer lower-income adults.