Office of National Drug Control Policy

2012 National Drug Control Strategy Data Supplement

This Data Supplement is a companion document to the 2012 National Drug Control Strategy and compiles data from many drug-related information systems, providing a reference regarding what we know about drug use, its consequences, illicit drug production and trafficking, and other related statistics. The Administration will continue to work to strengthen these information systems in order to improve our understanding of the drug problem and develop the most effective approaches to protect public health and safety.

Up-to-date information on the availability and prevalence of illegal drugs and the criminal, health, and social consequences of their use is vital to the implementation of the National Drug Control Strategy. Such information also is important for measuring the effectiveness of Federal, state, and local drug control programs. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Reauthorization Act of 2006 defines ONDCP’s reporting requirements, citing specific provisions of HR 6344 that address the contents of the National Drug Control Strategy, as follows:

  • An assessment of current illicit drug use (including inhalants and steroids) and availability, impact of drug use, and treatment availability,
  • An assessment of the reduction of illicit drug activity,
  • An assessment of the reduction of the consequences of illicit drug use and availability, and
  • A determination of the status of drug treatment in the United States.

The tables presented in this volume contain the most current drug-related data on the areas the 2006 ONDCP Reauthorization Act requires ONDCP to assess.

This document integrates many drug-related data sources to enable decision-makers to compare and contrast the latest trends from a single report. Highlights of the latest trends include:

  • The potency of marijuana seized in the United States continues to rise, reaching almost 11% in 2010, compared to approximately 3% in the early 1980’s (table 66).
  • Multiple independent data sources indicate cocaine use and availability in the United States dropped from 2006 to 2009:
    • the rate of current cocaine use decreased nearly 40% (table 1),
    • the number of cocaine-related emergency department visits decreased 23% (table 43),
    • the number of cocaine primary treatment admissions dropped 31% (table 59),
    • retail cocaine purity dropped 36% (table 62), and
    • Andean potential cocaine production dropped 21% (table 118).