Mortality Data From the Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2002

Mortality Data From the Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2002provides information on deaths involving drug abuse that were identified and submitted by participating death investigation jurisdictions across the United States. The Office of Applied Studies (OAS) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is responsible for the operation of the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). Two types of drug abuse deaths are reportable to DAWN: those that were druginduced (i.e., the drug(s) caused the death) and those that were drugrelated (i.e., the drug played a contributory role in the death).
Drug abuse deaths described in this publication do not represent the Nation as a whole, nor do they necessarily represent the total number of deaths in which drug abuse was a causal or contributing factor in any given metropolitan area. Rather, DAWN cases reflect the number of drug abuse deaths reviewed, identified, and reported by participating medical examiners and coroners in selected metropolitan areas.These findings can be used to monitor changes over time.