Amphetamine and Methamphetamine Emergency Department Visits, 1995-2002

Although much attention has been placed on methamphetamine abuse on the west coast of the United States, recent data suggest that the problem may be spreading eastward.1 The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) collects data on drug abuse-related emergency department (ED) visits throughout the coterminous U.S. and in selected major metropolitan areas in all 4 regions of the U.S. Therefore, DAWN may provide some insights into the eastward diffusion of methamphetamine abuse between 1995 and 2002.2
Some standard drug screens used in EDs do not differentiate between amphetamines and methamphetamine; therefore, ED visits involving either substance are included in this analysis. In DAWN, the category of amphetamines includes dextroamphetamine, methcathinone, and methyldioxyamphetamine. However, the most predominant term reported to DAWN is simply “amphetamine,” which accounts for well over 90 percent of the amphetamines category.