MOST MEN ARRESTED IN ATLANTA TEST POSITIVE FOR DRUGS

Most men arrested in Atlanta test positive for illegal drugs at the
time of their arrests, according to a new federal study.

About 62 percent of men arrested in the city in 2010 tested positive
for at least one drug, according to the National Drug Control Policy's
Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Annual Report.

"Drug addiction is too often the root of crime in our communities,"
said Gil Kerlikowse, director of the National Drug Control Policy. He
said the report's findings illustrate why the nation's drug problem
should be approached as a public health and safety problem.

The federal program analyzed results of drug tests given to men within
48 hours of their arrests. All males were tested, not just those
arrested on drug charges. Arrest charges ranged from misdemeanors to
felonies. Tests were conducted for the following nine drugs:
marijuana, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines/methamphetamine, Darvon,
PCP, benzodiazepines, methadone and barbiturates. The men were not
tested for alcohol.

Other key findings from the report:

- -- While nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of individuals arrested in
Atlanta tested positive for one drug, 13 percent tested positive for
two or more substances.

- -- Significantly fewer men arrested in Atlanta tested positive for
cocaine in 2010, compared to 2007 (30 percent vs. 46 percent.