A national survey of primary methamphetamine-related admissions to youth residential substance abuse treatment facilities in Canada, 2005 to 2006.

OBJECTIVE

Adolescent methamphetamine use has become a key issue for Canadian media and governments. Empirical studies, however, have not yet established the national scope of adolescent methamphetamine use or its impact on treatment services in Canada. The objective of the current study was to provide results from a national survey of primary methamphetamine-related admissions to Canadian residential substance abuse treatment facilities for youth.

METHOD

We developed a comprehensive list of all Canadian residential substance abuse treatment facilities for youth, and then, we asked the executive director (or equivalent) of each facility about the site's annual caseload and the proportion of primary methamphetamine-related admissions during the previous 12 months.

RESULTS

Responses were received from 46 of the 50 centres on our final master list. About 20% (1109/5169) of all national admissions to youth residential substance abuse treatment facilities were reported to be primarily due to methamphetamine use. A large majority of primary methamphetamine-related admissions occurred in British Columbia and Alberta.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescent methamphetamine use has had a major impact on entries into residential substance abuse treatment facilities in British Columbia and Alberta, while only a few centres outside these 2 western provinces have experienced elevated rates of primary methamphetamine-related admissions. Given the paucity of studies on adolescent methamphetamine treatment, future research needs to focus on developing effective clinical strategies in this area.