NCJ Number
235445
Date Published
1983
Length
272 pages
Annotation
This statistical report presents annual data on emergency room drug-abuse related episodes and drug-abuse related medical examiner cases for the year 1982, as obtained from the Drug Abuse Warning Network.
Abstract
Highlights from this report include: in 1982, 47 percent of the patients in emergency room (ER) drug-abuse related cases reported through the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) were male and 53 percent were female; 56 percent of the patients were White, 26 percent were Black, and 8 percent were Hispanic; 47 percent of the patients were aged 18 to 29 years, while 40 percent were 30 years and older; 53 percent of the episodes involved a single drug, with females accounting for the largest percent of these patients (55 percent); suicide was the primary motive in 40 percent of the episodes; and the most frequently mentioned drug was alcohol-in-combination (24 percent). In 1982, there were 3,040 drug-abuse related medical examiner cases reported to DAWN. Of these deaths, 62 percent of the decedents were male; 68 percent were White, 24 percent were Black, and 7 percent were Hispanic; 36 percent were between the ages of 18 and 29, while 63 percent were age 30 and older; and 65 percent of the episodes involved use of multiple drugs, with overdose being the primary cause of death in a majority of the cases (84 percent). This report presents annual data on ER drug-abuse related episodes and drug-abuse related medical examiner cases for the year 1982, as reported through DAWN. Data for the report were obtained from hospitals in 26 metropolitan areas, and a sample of hospitals outside the primary metropolitan areas. Tables and appendixes