*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 
1991.12.19 :  DAWN Data

Contact:  Mona Brown, Monica Revelle (301) 443-6245
December 19, 1991
     
       HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., today released
results from the newly expanded 1991 National Household Survey on
Drug Abuse which shows the maintenance of gains over the past
several years in reducing Americans' use of illicit drugs, but that
gains in several areas are being challenged.
       The expanded 1991 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse
shows that several years of downward trends have generally leveled
off.  In the population 12 and older, 6.2 percent in 1991 had used
illicit drugs currently (last 30 days), not much different from the
6.4 percent of 1990.  While the encouraging downward trends among
adolescents (12-17) continues, the picture among older Americans is
more complex.  It reflects at least in part the aging of an earlier
high-use generation who began their drug-taking behavior in peak
years of the late '70s and the early '80s and have continued.
       Meanwhile, the Drug Abuse Warning Network, or DAWN, which
samples hospital emergency rooms for drug-related medical
consequences, showed an increase of 12 percent in drug-related
episodes during the first two quarters of 1991, though the
estimates for the second quarter of 1991 are still 11 percent below
the second quarter of 1989.  The recent increase reflects in part
the increasing medical consequences among those who continue their
drug-
taking behavior.

                         - More -- 2 -

    In releasing the findings from the two surveys, Secretary
Sullivan said, "Students have heard and responded to our message to
stop using drugs, but the tougher job of reaching dropouts, the
unemployed and other special populations remains.  The new data
emphasize that our work is far from done.  I hope that Congress will
review and note these figures and decide to do more, as we've
requested, to help us fight this important war."
    Governor Bob Martinez, director of the Office of National
Drug Control Policy, said, "The data released today show that we are
continuing to make progress.  Most importantly there was a large
drop in adolescent drug use since 1988.  Among persons 12-17 years
old, current use of any illicit drug in that group is down more than
25 percent over the three-year period, and went from 1.6 million in
1990 to 1.4 million in *This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 
1991.  This is very good news:  it means that
we are shutting down the pipeline to drug addiction, especially
among young Americans."
    Both studies were carried out by the National Institute on
Drug Abuse.  The studies were recently broadened to be more
comprehensive and representative, requiring additional analysis to
evaluate comparability with data from surveys conducted in prior
years.  
    National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

  Findings from the 1991 Household Survey include:

o "Current" (in the past 30 days) illicit drug use among youth,
  12-17 years old, declined by more than half between 1985 and
  1991, dropping from 14.9 percent to 6.8 percent.  The direction
  of the long term trend in this age group continued in this
  survey, going from 8.1 percent in 1990 to 6.8 percent in *This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 
1991.

                         - More -- 3 -


o Approximately 0.9 percent of the total population 12 and older
  were past month users of cocaine, up slightly, but not
  statistically significantly, from 1990.  But the percentage
  remained well below Eighties levels, where it was three times
  higher in 1985 (2.9 percent) and nearly twice as high in 1988
  (1.5 percent).

o The number of "past year" and "past month" cocaine users has
  decreased significantly since the peak year in 1985.  However,
  frequent or more intense use showed no statistically
  significant change in the past year.

o According to the 1991 survey, 479,000 people (0.2 percent) used
  crack during the past month -- about the same as 1988 and 1990. 
  The highest percentages of crack use were among those who were
  disproportionately represented in socio-economic groups that
  have historically faced increased health risks -- blacks (0.7
  percent), the unemployed (1.8 percent), and high school
  dropouts (0.6 percent) -- as well as by young adults age 18-34
  (0.4 percent).

o Marijuana remained the most commonly used illicit drug in the
  United States.  Past month use of marijuana declined about 6
  percent (5.1 percent in 1990 to 4.8 percent in 1991).  In the
  past year, 5.3 million used the drug once a week or more and
  3.1 million used daily or almost daily.

Drug Abuse Warning Network

    DAWN collects data on the consequences of drug abuse by
measuring drug-related episodes and mentions in a nationally
representative sample of hospital emergency rooms in the United
States DAWN data from the first two quarters of 1991 show:
  
o Total drug-related emergency room episodes increased from
  89,325 in the fourth quarter of 1990 to 100,381 in the second
  quarter of 1991, a 12 percent increase.

o Cocaine-related emergency room mentions increased 31 percent
  from 19,381 in the fourth quarter of 1990 to 25,370 in the
  second quarter of *This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 
1991.

o Heroin-related emergency room mentions increased 26 percent
  from 7,510 in the fourth quarter of 1990 to 9,432 in the second
  quarter of *This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 
1991.

o Trends in total episodes and mentions are similar for all
  ethnic groups.


                         - More -- 4 -


    These findings may reflect an increase in reports of medical
consequences of drug use.  The longer people use drugs, the more
susceptible they become to severe medical consequences.  Individuals
whose drug problem is of several years' duration are more likely to
use emergency rooms as their community clinic, and that can be
reflected in the data. In addition, changes in drug purity can
result in more accidental or unintentional overdoses in this group,
since individuals may be unaware of a drug's potency.  And increased
public awareness of the medical consequences of drug use could also
contribute to greater utilization of emergency rooms. 

Other Household Survey Results

    Secretary Sullivan said, "We have expanded the national
sample for the Household Survey this year from approximately 9,000
to 32,000, which includes an oversampling of 12,000 individuals in
six cities in order to have an even clearer picture than before of
drug abuse in this country.  Data coming from this expanded data
base becomes a guidepost to show us where we can make even stronger
efforts to address drug problems.  We see clearly that we need to
put more effort into reaching high-risk groups, such as the
unemployed and high school dropouts.  We also must maintain our
focus on women -- especially those in their child-bearing years for
whom the consequences of addiction are especially tragic."

o Current illicit drug use was the highest among young adults
  (18-25) at 15.4 percent, compared to youth (12-17) at 6.8
  percent, and adults (26 and older) at 4.5 percent.

o Among unemployed 18-34 year olds, 21.5 percent used illicit
  drugs in the past month compared to 9.7 percent who are
  employed full time.  Current cocaine use in this group was 4.9
  percent among the unemployed and 1.8 percent among the
  employed.  Current marijuana use was 18.5 percent among the
  unemployed and 7.9 percent among the employed.

o The survey showed that high school dropouts are more likely to
  use drugs than high school graduates.  Among high school
  dropouts, 16.6 percent had used an illicit drug in the past
  month compared to 9.9 percent of high school graduates. 
  Current marijuana use among dropouts was 14.1 percent compared
  to 7.9 percent of graduates.  Current cocaine use was 3.6
  percent for high school dropouts compared to 1.6 percent for
  graduates.

o While the survey does not provide data on drug use by pregnant
  women, it does show that over 4.5 million (7.7 percent) of the
  nearly 59.2 million women in the childbearing years of 15-44
  had used an illicit drug in the past month.  Of this group,
  601,000 had used cocaine and 3.3 million had used marijuana.  


                         - More-- 5 -


    HHS Assistant Secretary for Health James Mason, M.D., who
heads the Public Health Service, said, "NIDA's Household Survey has
been broadened to include college students in dormitories, homeless
people in shelters, civilians in military installations and special
expanded sample of six major metropolitan areas.  So it is a better
study, and I applaud that.  We've wanted to get the most accurate
picture possible.  This is not always an attractive picture,
especially among unemployed young adults or high school dropouts. 
About twice as many young adults who are unemployed or dropped out
of school had used such a drug in the past month (that is, 21.5 
percent of the young unemployed and 16.6 percent of the young high
school dropouts) compared to employed individuals or high school
graduates.  NIDA's director, Dr. Charles R. Schuster, has taken
steps to begin an in-depth study to get additional answers to this
problem."

    NIDA is a part of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health
Administration, one of the eight Public Health Service agencies
within HHS.


                              ###