Each year, thousands of individuals of all ages visit hospital emergency departments due to medical problems stemming from drug abuse. Sometimes they die as a result of these problems. Efforts to keep track of these visits give scientists a clue as to the scope of drug abuse in the United States and which drugs are responsible for medical emergencies. These figures can also help experts spot emerging trends in the use of new drugs.

The Drug Abuse Warning Network

The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) was created in 1972 by the U.S. Department of Justice as a surveillance system for new drugs of abuse. It is a voluntary national data collection system that gathers information on substance abuse resulting in visits to hospital emergency departments in the continental United States. DAWN does not measure prevalence, or...