NCJ Number
204896
Date Published
March 2004
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This DAWN (Drug Abuse Warning Network) report presents data on the number and types of drug-related visits to 16 hospitals in the Newark (New Jersey) metropolitan area in 2002.
Abstract
Currently hospitals in the Newark area and 20 other metropolitan areas participate in the DAWN network, as they follow standard procedures for keeping records on cases that have involved medical treatment for drug abuse. Of the 818,000 visits to the emergency departments (ED's) of the 16 DAWN hospitals in Newark in 2002, approximately 1 percent (7,677) were related to drug abuse. The most common drugs involved in these ED visits were heroin (3,731); cocaine (3,242); alcohol in combination with other drugs (2,008); narcotic analgesics (1,115); benzodiazepines (991); and marijuana. From 2000 to 2002, narcotic analgesics (pain relievers) doubled in drug abuse-related ED visits in Newark, from 31 to 64 per 100,000 population. Compared with the 20 other DAWN areas, Newark ranked in the top 5 in heroin-related ED visits. In 2002, Newark's rate of heroin-related ED visits was 214 per 100,000, almost 6 times the national rate. Between 1995 and 2002, Newark's rate of heroin-related ED visits was stable while the national rate increased 22 percent. Over 60 percent of heroin-related ED visits also involved other drugs. Cocaine-related ED visits in Newark remained stable between 1995 and 2002. From 2000 to 2002, pain relievers involved in drug abuse-related ED visits doubled in Newark. Methadone and oxycodone/combinations were the most often named pain relievers in 2002. Four figures compare Newark with the other 20 DAWN metro areas for rates of ED visits involving heroin, cocaine, pain relievers, and benzodiazepine.