NCJ Number
235450
Date Published
1988
Length
289 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 1987, as obtained from the Drug Abuse Warning Network.
Abstract
Highlights from this report include: in 1987, 146,778 emergency room (ER) drug-abuse related episodes involving 241,790 drug mentions were reported to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN); 54 percent of the patients were male and 45 percent were female; 44 percent of the patients were White, 37 percent were Black, and 10 percent were Hispanic; 39 percent of the patients were aged 20 to 29 years, while 31 percent were aged 30-39; 46 percent of the episodes involved the use of 2 or more drugs; drug dependence was the primary reason for the ER visit in 35 percent of the episodes, followed by suicide at 32 percent; and the most frequently mentioned drug was cocaine, followed by alcohol-in-combination, and heroin/morphine. In 1982, there were 4,678 drug-abuse related medical examiner cases reported to DAWN. Of these deaths, 71 percent of the decedents were male; 56 percent were White, 31 percent were Black, and 10 percent were Hispanic; 26 percent were between the ages of 18 and 29, while 72 percent were age 30 and older; and 72 percent of the episodes involved use of multiple drugs, with overdose being the primary cause of death in a majority of the cases (71 percent). This report presents annual data on ER drug-abuse related episodes and drug-abuse related medical examiner cases for the year 1987, as reported through DAWN. Data for the report were obtained from 756 ERs and 75 medical examiners in 27 metropolitan areas. Tables and appendixes