NCJ Number
235436
Date Published
1988
Length
93 pages
Annotation
This statistical report presents semiannual trend data for emergency room drug-abuse related episodes for the period January 1985 - December 1987 and drug-abuse related medical examiner cases for the period July 1984 - June 1987, as obtained from the Drug Abuse Warning Network.
Abstract
Highlights from this report include: for the period January 1985 - December 1987, mentions for cocaine in emergency room (ER) drug-abuse related episodes increased for the total Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) system, and in 26 of the 27 metropolitan areas; no metropolitan areas saw a decrease in cocaine mentions; mentions for heroin/morphine increased in the overall DAWN system, and in 14 of the 27 metropolitan areas; a decrease for heroin/morphine mentions was noted in San Francisco; mentions for marijuana increased in the total DAWN system and 16 of the 27 areas, while marijuana mentions decreased over the 3-year period in Los Angeles; 6 of the 27 areas and the whole DAWN system noted increases in PCP/PCP combinations, while 3 areas showed decreases in PCP/PCP combination mentions. In drug-abuse related medical examiner (ME) cases, drug abuse deaths involving cocaine increased from 323 in the second half of 1984 to 622 in the first half of 1987; and heroin/morphine mentions increased from 588 as of December 1984 to 946 as of June 1987. This report presents trends in the semiannual number of mentions of selected drugs in ER drug-abuse related episodes for the period January 1985 - December 1987 and drug-abuse related ME cases for the period July 1984 - June 1987, as reported through the DAWN system. Data were obtained from 679 participating ERs and 79 MEs or coroners in 27 metropolitan areas in the continental United States. Trends in drug mentions are tabulated for 6-month intervals over a 3-year period. Tables and appendixes