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Comparative Study
. 2006 Oct;96(10):1755-7.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.071647.

Opioid analgesic involvement in drug abuse deaths in American metropolitan areas

Leonard J Paulozzi  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Opioid analgesic involvement in drug abuse deaths in American metropolitan areas

Leonard J Paulozzi. Am J Public Health. 2006 Oct.

Abstract

I measured the role of opioid analgesics in drug abuse-related deaths in a consistent panel of 28 metropolitan areas from the Drug Abuse Warning Network. The number of reports of opioid analgesics increased 96.6% from 1997 to 2002; methadone, oxycodone, and unspecified opioid analgesics accounted for 74.3% of the increase. Oxycodone reports increased 727.8% (from 72 to 596 reports). By 2002, opioid analgesics were noted more frequently than were heroin or cocaine. Dramatic increases in the availability of such opioids have made their abuse a major, growing problem.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Reports of cocaine, heroin or morphine, and opioid analgesics from selected Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) medical examiners, 1997–2002. Note. The DAWN consistent panel included jurisdictions from the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Ga; Baltimore, Md; Birmingham, Ala; Boston, Mass; Buffalo, NY; Chicago, Ill; Cleveland, Ohio; Dallas, Tex; Denver, Colo; Detroit, Mich; Kansas City, Mo; Las Vegas, Nev; Long Island, NY; Louisville, Ky; Miami, Fla; Minneapolis, Minn; New Orleans, La; Newark, NJ; Omaha, Neb; Philadelphia, Pa; Phoenix, Ariz; Portland, Ore; St. Louis, Mo; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Diego, Calif; San Francisco, Calif; Seattle, Wash; and Washington, DC.
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Reports of opioid analgesics, by major type, from selected Drug Abuse Warning Network medical examiners, 1997–2002.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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