New Study Shows American Indians and Alaska Natives Continue to Have Higher-Than-Average Rates of Alcohol Use and Illicit Drug U

American Indians and Alaska Natives ages 12 or older were less likely to have used alcohol in the past year than were members of other racial groups, but they were more likely than members of other racial groups to have a past-year alcohol use disorder and to have a past-year illicit drug use disorder, according to new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Substance Use and Substance Disorders among American Indians and Alaska Natives shows that 60.8 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives and 65.8 percent of other racial groups used alcohol in the past year, that 10.7 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives reported having a past-year alcohol use disorder compared with 7.6 percent of other racial groups and that 5.0 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives had a past-year illicit drug use disorder compared with 2.9 percent of other racial groups. American Indians and Alaska Natives also had higher rates than members of other racial groups for past-year marijuana use (13.5 percent vs. 10.6 percent), cocaine use (3.5 percent vs. 2.4 percent), and disorders involving hallucinogen use (2.7 percent vs. 1.7 percent). However, rates of past-year heroin use and past-year nonmedical use of pain relievers, tranquilizers, and sedatives were similar for American Indians and Alaska Natives and members of other racial groups. All findings are annual averages based on combined 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data.

“Tragically, American Indians and Alaska Natives continue to have higher rates of substance use disorders than other racial groups within the United States,” says Terry L. Cline, Ph.D., SAMHSA Administrator. “While improvements in some areas of substance use have been realized, such as decreased alcohol use in the past year, we intend to keep working to ensure that culturally appropriate substance abuse treatment and native healing approaches can bring help where it is so badly needed.”

The complete report is available online at oas.samhsa.gov.