Opiate-Related Drug Misuse Deaths in 6 States: 2003

 

The DAWN Report:  Opiate-Related Drug Misuse Deaths in 6 States, 2003

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Highlights

• SAMHSA's Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) collects data on all deaths where drugs played a role, either directly (e.g., overdose) or indirectly (e.g., fatal car crash where drugs were involved). Drug misuse death is defined as a drug-related death caused by overmedication, all other accidental causes, homicide by drugs, and drug-related deaths where the cause could not be determined.

• Opiates include heroin, methadone, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, Dilaudid, morphine, Demerol, opium, and any other drug with morphine-like effects. 

• Six States participate in the mortality component of the Drug Abuse Warning Network: Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah, and Vermont. The rates of opiate-related drug misuse deaths in 2003 ranged from 7.2 per 100,000 population in New Hampshire to 11.6 per 100,000 population in New Mexico. In each of these 6 States, most opiate-related drug misuse deaths involved multiple drugs.

• Three opiate pain medications as a group (oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone) were involved in 40% or more of the opiate misuse deaths in these States. The involvement of oxycodone ranged from 13% in New Mexico to 30% in Vermont; hydrocodone ranged from 3% in Maryland to 17% in Utah; and methadone ranged from 17% in New Mexico to 46% in Maine.

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This OAS Short Report, The DAWN Report:  Opiate-Related Drug Misuse Deaths in 6 States, 2003, is based on the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), conducted by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).