ANTI-DRUG BATTLE NOT OVER, TEXAS EXPERT WARNS

AUSTIN -- A national report showing an overall drop in the number of
drug-related emergency room visits is far from a sign that the battle
against drugs is being won, a Texas drug expert said Wednesday.

Dallas figures included in the study show an increase in emergency room
visits by teen-agers involving cocaine, heroin or morphine and marijuana,
said Jane Maxwell, chief of research for the Texas Commission on Alcohol
and Drug Abuse.

She said she believes that trend would hold true in other Texas cities as well.

"I'd hate for people to be lulled into complacency thinking the numbers are
down when they're not," she said. "We still have a serious problem,
particularly among our young people."

The Drug Abuse Warning Network survey, which polled a sampling of U.S.
hospitals including Dallas, shows an overall 6 percent drop in the number
of drug cases at emergency rooms from 1995 to 1996.

The decrease is largely attributable to fewer cases involving legal drugs,
such as aspirin.

Cocaine, heroin and marijuana incidents remained steady overall, while the
number of cases involving methamphetamine and the psychedelic drug PCP
fell.

Barry McCaffrey, White House national drug policy director, said in a
statement when the report was released Tuesday, "The slight success we are
seeing encourages us to continue our hard work."

Maxwell said it's important to look at the breakdown of the figures by age,
adding that Texas was given such a breakdown for cocaine and crack; heroin
and morphine; and marijuana.

While the figures from the national survey include only the Dallas area,
she said she believes the trends would hold true for other parts of the
state because drug use doesn't differ that much.

"I don't see that many differences between Dallas and San Antonio and
Houston," she said. "I don't think Dallas is that different from the rest
of the state."

Emergency room mentions of heroin and morphine in the Dallas metropolitan
area went from 14.1 per 100,000 population in 1989 to 12.7 in 1995, then up
to 15.9 in 1996. That includes all age groups.

The study shows no reports of heroin- or morphine-related cases for those
age 12 to 17 from 1989 through 1995, Maxwell said. In 1996, the report was
9.5 per 100,000 population. Other findings:

* For those age 18 to 25, the Dallas report of heroin or morphine
involvement went from 18.6 per 100,000 population in 1989 to 17.2 in 1995,
then up to 31.5 in 1996.

* Regarding cocaine, emergency-room mentions in the Dallas metropolitan
area rose from 59.1 per 100,000 population in 1989 to 65.3 in 1995, then
dipped to 60.9 in 1996.

* For those age 12 to 17, the figures went from 33.3 per 100,000 in 1989 to
21.9 in 1995, then back up to 32 per 100,000 in 1996. In the 18-to-25 age
group, cocaine-related cases dropped from 140.9 per 100,000 in 1989 to
109.3 in 1995, then to 91.7 in 1996.

* Reports of marijuana-related cases increased slightly from 23.8 per
100,000 population in 1989 to 23.9 in 1995, then dropped to 22.9 in 1996.
That includes all age groups.