Drug Abuse Warning Network DAWN

Drug Enforcement Administration. Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) Phase VI Report. May 1977-Apri1 1978. Washington, D.C. Drug Enforcement Administration, 1978. p. 158. 

The association of substance abuse with emergency department (ED) visits in 21 different metropolitan areas in the United States is reported by the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). This survey tracks ED visits that are due to a condition induced by or related to drug use. Included in the data are ED visits associated with alcohol, alone and in combination with other substances of abuse, including cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and major stimulants. Figure 33-2 indicates the number of ED visits that are associated with illicit... 

According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), a public health surveillance system, in the second half of 2003, there were 627,923 drug-related visits to the emergency rooms of hospitals. Of these visits, 141,343 involved alcohol alone or alcohol along with other drugs. Of all the alcohol-related visits, 16,770 were made by 12-to 17-year olds in a ratio of about 2 1, males to females. ... 

More than half of GHB-related emergency room visits are for unexpected reaction and overdose following recreational use. The U.S. government s Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) reported an alarming rise in... 

There are no definitive numbers available on GHB abuse and overdoses, but various agencies have started tracking this information. The DEA reports more than 7,100 GHB overdoses and encounters with law enforcement between 1990 and 2001. Over that same time period, 65 GHB-related deaths, mainly from respiratory depression, have been documented. The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) listed 20 emergency room episodes in 1992, and the number of episodes has climbed steadily since then to 2,973 in 1999. That number leaped to 4,969 in 2000. 

Death resulting from inhalant use is more common in males. The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) monitors drug-related deaths as reported by medical examiners in 40 metropolitan areas. In 1999, medical examiners in these cities recorded 129 deaths from inhalants, a 25% increase over the 103 inhalant deaths recorded in 1998. Those who died in 1999 from inhalant use ranged from adolescents to adults age 55 and older, and were predominantly white. 

Racially, white patients account for 61% of all drug-related hospital visits in the United States, followed by black (26%) and Hispanics (11%). With the exception of rohypnol, the 69-80% of all club drug incidents recorded by Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) involve white, non-Hispanic patients—a fairly typical reflection of the U.S. population. A far larger share (56%) of rohypnol mentions are attributed to Hispanic patients, but this may have to do with the small sample size available to researchers. 

In the United States and other developed countries, illicit opium derivatives such as heroin or licit synthetic opioids such as Vicodin have generally replaced the use of smoked or eaten opium. According to Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) data provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), there were more than 82,000 emergency department admissions for narcotic analgesics/narcotic analgesic combinations in 2000. Only 167 of these visits were for opium and opium combinations. 

The federal Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) reports that the cities in which GHB is appearing most often are Atlanta, Georgia Dallas, Texas Denver, Colorado New Orleans, Louisiana and San Francisco, California. Of the GHB users who went to emergency rooms in 1999,56% said they had used the drug with alcohol, whereas 15% had used it with Ecstasy. 

Office of Applied Statistics. Year end 2000 emergency department data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network. DAWN Series D-18, Rockville, Md Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2001 (DHHS Publication No. 01-03532). 

TABLE 4.2 Commonly Misused/Abused Drugs as Reported by the National Surveillance Agency Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN)... 

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