NCJ Number: 204900
Title: Highlights From DAWN: Denver, 2002
Corporate Author: Westat
Date Published: March 2004
Page Count: 4
Sponsoring Agency: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin (SAMHSA)
Sale Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin (SAMHSA)
Document: PDF
Type: Report (Study/Research) ; Statistics
Format: Document (Online)
Language: English
Country: United States of America
Annotation: This report presents data on drug-related hospital emergency
department (ED) visits compiled by the Denver Drug Abuse Warning
Network (DAWN) in 2002.
Abstract: DAWN is a national surveillance system that monitors drug-related
morbidity and mortality by collecting data from a scientific
sample of hospital emergency departments and a set of medical
examiners and coroners from across the United States, with
concentrations in selected metropolitan areas. This report
presents DAWN data submitted for 2002 by nine hospitals in the
Denver metropolitan area (Colorado). Of the more than one-half million visits to Denver-area emergency departments (ED's) in
2002, approximately 1 percent (5,266) were related to drug abuse.
During 2002, the most common drugs involved in these ED visits
were cocaine, alcohol in combination with other drugs, heroin, marijuana, and narcotic analgesics (pain relievers). Between 1995 and 2002, the rate of heroin-related ED visits increased 43 percent, from 30 to 43 visits per 100,000 population, including a
10-percent increase since 2001. Over this same period,
cocaine-related ED visits in Denver increased 9 percent, from 75
to 82 visits per 100,000 population; over two-thirds of the
cocaine-related ED visits also involved other drugs. Over this
period, marijuana-related ED visits remained relatively stable;
marijuana was usually reported in combination with other drugs
(76 percent of ED visits). From 1995 to 2002, pain relievers
implicated in drug-related ED visits increased 50 percent in
Denver, from 22 to 34 mentions per 100,000 population. In 2002,
hydrocodone and oxycodone were the most frequently named pain
relievers in drug-related ED visits in Denver. Among the 21 DAWN areas, Denver ranked in the lower half in ED visits that involved cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. 9 figures
Main Term(s): Drug statistics
Index Term(s): Cocaine; Colorado; Drug abuse; Drug statistics; Heroin; Marijuana
Note: "The DAWN Report," March 2004; downloaded March 31, 2004.
To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=204900
. A title search of
WorldCat, the world's largest library network, will start when you click
"Continue." Here you will be able to learn if libraries in your community have the document you need. The results will open in a new browser and your NCJRS session will remain
active for 30 minutes. Learn More.
