NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ...

• Logan International Airport and several regional
airports within a 1-hour drive of Boston
• Declining State revenues producing social service
cutbacks
• A high number of homeless individuals seeking
shelter
Data Sources
Data sources for this report include the following:
• Emergency department (ED) drug mentions
data were provided by the Drug Abuse Warning
Network (DAWN), Office of Applied Studies
(OAS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), for a Boston
metropolitan area consisting of five Massachusetts
counties: Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth,
and Suffolk. DAWN weighted estimates for 2002
are presented in this paper and are the most recent
final estimates. In 2003, OAS instituted a redesigned
ED system. The data from the new system
cannot be compared with those for 2002 and before.
In the Boston metropolitan area, 29 of the 41
eligible hospitals are in the new DAWN sample.
The EDs in the new sample total 34. (Some hospitals
have more than one ED.) For this report, data
were accessed from the DAWN Live! restrictedaccess
online query system for the first half of
2004, updated on December 12–13, 2004. The
2004 data are unweighted. They are not estimates
for the Boston area and cannot be used for comparison
with future data. Only weighted data released
by SAMHSA can be used in trend analysis.
The data reported here are incomplete. Between
18 and 20 EDs reported each month over the 6month
period. Since all DAWN cases are reviewed
for quality control, and cases may be corrected
or deleted based on the review, the data are
subject to change. Data presented in this paper
represent drug reports in drug-related visits in the
first 6 months of 2004. Drug reports exceed the
number of visits, since a patient may report use of
multiple drugs (up to six drugs plus alcohol). A
full description of the DAWN system can be
found at .
• Drug-related death data were provided by
DAWN, OAS, SAMHSA, for 2002 for a Boston
metropolitan area consisting of five Massachusetts
counties: Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth,
and Suffolk.
• State-funded substance abuse treatment admissions
data for a Boston region comprising the
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EPIDEMIOLOGIC TRENDS IN DRUG ABUSE—Greater Boston
cities of Boston, Brookline, Chelsea, Revere, and
Winthrop (Community Health Network Area
[CHNA] 19), for fiscal year (FY) 1997 through
FY 2004 (July 1, 1996, through June 30, 2004)
were provided by the Massachusetts Department
of Public Health (DPH), Bureau of Substance
Abuse Services.
• Analysis of seized drug samples for a Boston
region comprising the cities of Boston, Brookline,
Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop (CHNA 19), for
January 1, 1997, through June 30, 2003, was provided
by the DPH Drug Analysis Laboratory.
• Information on drug mentions in Helpline calls
for a Boston region comprising the cities of Boston,
Brookline, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop
(CHNA 19) for FY 2000 through FY 2004 were
provided by the Massachusetts Substance Abuse
Information and Education Helpline.
• Drug arrests data for the city of Boston for
1997–2003 were provided by the Boston Police
Department Drug Control Unit and Office of Research
and Evaluation.
• Drug price, purity, and availability data for
New England as of November 2003 were provided
by the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA), New England Field Division Intelligence
Group.
• Heroin overdose calls to Boston Emergency
Medical Services (BEMS) were reported for the
city of Boston for 2003. Overdose calls require at
least two of the following: pinpoint pupils, nodding
off, track marks, drug paraphernalia, patient
admission, depressed respiratory effort, witness
report, effective administration of Narcan.
• Youth Risk Behavior Survey data were provided
by the Boston Public School Department
and included self-reported drug use prevalence
among Boston public high school students in
2003.
• Data on Massachusetts pharmacy OxyContin
thefts for 2000 through 2004 were provided by
the Massachusetts Pharmacy Board of Registration.
• Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
data by year between 1993 and 2003, and cumulative
data through January 1, 2005, were provided
by the DPH AIDS Surveillance Program.
Proceedings of the Community Epidemiology Work Group, Vol. II, January 2005