81% arrested here test positive for drugs

More than 80 percent of men arrested in Chicago last year tested positive for drugs, according to a federal study released Wednesday.

That’s compared to an average of 60 percent among 10 cities sampled in a study released by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The federal agency found Chicago tied with Sacramento, Calif., for the highest percentage of men who tested positive for a drug at the time of arrest.

While Chicago was at the top of the list with 81 percent, the city has seen a decline from 2010, when 83 percent of arrested men had a drug in their system.

The study also found that the percentage of men arrested who tested positive for cocaine has dropped to 25 percent. In 2007, 41 percent of men arrested tested positive for cocaine, the study said.

The most commonly detected drug found in Chicago was marijuana.

Other cities included in the study were Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New York, Portland and Washington. The study tested men arrested for non-drug-related offenses.

Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in a statement that the study is consistent with previous research that has shown a link between crime and drug use.

“These data confirm that we must address our drug problem as a public-health issue, not just a criminal-justice issue,” Kerlikowske said.