METH USE HAS CAUSED RISE IN PHOENIX ER VISITS

Emergency room visits related to methamphetamine use increased 76
percent in Phoenix from 1999 to 2000, according to a national survey
released Wednesday. Six hundred people visited Phoenix emergency
rooms in 2000 for drug-related problems attributed to
methamphetamine, up from 341 people in 1999.

Overall, drug-related visits to Phoenix emergency rooms increased 9
percent, from 8,293 in 1999 to 9,072 in 2000, according to the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 2000
Emergency Department Data. The report was compiled from information
provided by the Drug Abuse Warning Network.

Phoenix was among seven of 21 metropolitan areas that reported an
increase in drug-related emergency room visits. Phoenix and Seattle
also had the most visits attributed to LSD use.

The data show that Phoenix ranked seventh among the cities posting
overall increases for drug-related emergency room visits. The city
followed such areas as Seattle (32 percent), Boston (28 percent) and
Los Angeles (22 percent).

Baltimore and San Francisco were the only cities reporting decreases.