Drug Abuse Warning Network
Encyclopedia
The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) is a public health surveillance system in the United States that monitors drug-related visits to hospital emergency departments and drug-related deaths investigated by medical examiners and coroners https://dawninfo.samhsa.gov/default.asp.
's Office of Science and Technology. It was jointly funded with the National Institute of Drug Abuse(NIDA)http://www.dea.gov/pubs/history/1970-1975.html. DAWN then became a division of the United States Department of Justice
before becoming part of NIDA in 1980.
On October 1, 1992, DAWN became part the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/druguse/. SAMHSA has contracted with Westat
, a private research corporation, to manage the New DAWN on the agency’s behalf https://dawninfo.samhsa.gov/about/whoweare.asp.
Department of Justice claimed, "In Wisconsin, marijuana overdose visits in emergency rooms equal to heroin or morphine
, twice as common as Valium." Common Sense for Drug Policy called this as a distortion, noting, "The federal DAWN report itself notes that reports of marijuana do not mean people are going to the hospital for a marijuana overdose, it only means that people going to the hospital mention marijuana as a drug they use" http://www.drugwardistortions.org/distortion6.htm. This criticism is also not correct. DAWN has recently clarified their use of the term "drug mention" in methodology because of this erroneous claim https://dawninfo.samhsa.gov/collect/collect_qas.asp#2. The data is collected by a systematic and confidential review of patients' medical records. Thus, for example, a patient who broke an arm while high on marijuana would not be included in the data.
Organization
Hospitals participating in DAWN are non-federal, short-stay general hospitals that feature a 24-hour emergency department http://www.dea.gov/pubs/history/1970-1975.html. Patients are never interviewed. All data are collected through a retrospective review of patient medical records and decedent case files. DAWN collects detailed drug data, including illegal drugs of abuse, prescription and over-the-counter medications, dietary supplements, and non-pharmaceutical inhalants http://dawninfo.samhsa.gov/old_dawn/about/howdawn.asp. Because the DAWN cases are defined broadly, DAWN captures many different types of drug-related cases https://dawninfo.samhsa.gov/tools/faqs.asp. The whole point of this organization is to find out how many people abuse most drugs. They also seek short-stay hospitals that is drug-related.History
In 1974, DAWN was designed and developed by the scientific staff of the DEADrug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
's Office of Science and Technology. It was jointly funded with the National Institute of Drug Abuse(NIDA)http://www.dea.gov/pubs/history/1970-1975.html. DAWN then became a division of the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
before becoming part of NIDA in 1980.
On October 1, 1992, DAWN became part the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with improving the quality and availability of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability, and cost to...
(SAMHSA), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
United States Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America"...
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/druguse/. SAMHSA has contracted with Westat
Westat
Westat is an employee-owned corporation providing research services to agencies of the U.S. Government, as well as businesses, foundations, and state and local governments....
, a private research corporation, to manage the New DAWN on the agency’s behalf https://dawninfo.samhsa.gov/about/whoweare.asp.
Controversy
Information collected by DAWN is widely cited by drug policy officials, who have sometimes confused Drug-Related Episodes - emergency room visits induced by drugs - with Drug Mentions. The WisconsinWisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
Department of Justice claimed, "In Wisconsin, marijuana overdose visits in emergency rooms equal to heroin or morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
, twice as common as Valium." Common Sense for Drug Policy called this as a distortion, noting, "The federal DAWN report itself notes that reports of marijuana do not mean people are going to the hospital for a marijuana overdose, it only means that people going to the hospital mention marijuana as a drug they use" http://www.drugwardistortions.org/distortion6.htm. This criticism is also not correct. DAWN has recently clarified their use of the term "drug mention" in methodology because of this erroneous claim https://dawninfo.samhsa.gov/collect/collect_qas.asp#2. The data is collected by a systematic and confidential review of patients' medical records. Thus, for example, a patient who broke an arm while high on marijuana would not be included in the data.