NCJ Number
235420
Date Published
1973
Length
149 pages
Annotation
This statistical report from the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, presents information on the initial phase of data collection concerning drug-abuse episodes for the period September, 1972, through April, 1973, as obtained from the Drug Abuse Warning Network.
Abstract
Highlights from this report include: for the period September, 1972, through April, 1973, there were 62,064 drug-abuse episodes reported at medical facilities involved in the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) Project that involved 82,286 drug mentions. Of the 82,286 drug mentions, 57 percent were for single drug use, while 43 percent were for drugs used in combination; out of a list of 43 substances, the 5 most frequently mentioned drugs-marijuana, heroin, LSD, alcohol, and methaqualone-accounted for almost 37 percent of all drug mentions; and 9 of the top 10 drugs identified in drug-abuse episodes were for drugs classified as illicit - marijuana, heroin, LSD, speed, hash, mescaline, PCP, glue, and MDA. Additional data are provided on drug use by race, age, sex, employment status, motivation, and frequency of use for each substance identified in a drug-abuse episode. This report presents data on drug-abuse episodes and drug mentions collected through DAWN for the period September, 1972, through April, 1973, the initial phase of the DAWN project. Data were obtained from 64 medical facility sets consisting of hospital emergency rooms, hospital inpatient units, county medical examiners, student health centers, and crisis centers, located in 38 cities throughout the 13 Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regions. DAWN is a large-scale, ongoing drug abuse collection system with several objectives: identifying substances associated with drug abuse episodes; monitoring drug abuse patterns and trends; assessing health hazards associated with drug abuse; and providing data for national, State, and local drug abuse policy and program planning. Tables and figures