SAMHSA Releases New Data on Drug-related Hospital Emergency Department Visits
"The latest Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) report - drawn from a sample of hospital emergency departments across the Nation - indicates that more than 1.7 million visits for treatment were associated with some form of substance misuse or abuse. The 2006 DAWN report, developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), provides the latest estimates on how substance use affects this critical part of the Nation’s healthcare system.

Among the report’s more notable findings:

• Cocaine was involved in 548,608 emergency department visits.

• Marijuana was involved in 290,563 emergency department visits.

• Heroin was involved in 189,780 emergency department visits.

• There were 126,704 emergency department visits by patients under age 21 where alcohol was the only substance involved in the visit.

• Stimulants, including amphetamines and methamphetamines, were involved in 107,575 emergency department visits."