Emergency department | Addiction Treatment Strategies

The number of narcotic-related emergency room visits in New York City jumped 40 percent between 2004 and 2009, according to a survey by the city’s Department of Health. Painkillers are now the second-most commonly used illegal drugs, behind marijuana, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The survey found 850,000 New Yorkers, or about 14 percent of the population over age 12, said they used marijuana during 2008 and 2009. An estimated 263,000 used opioids, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone.
“What we’re seeing is a striking shift to prescription medications as the drugs of choice, in parallel with a national epidemic of prescription opioid…

 
Nearly three-fourths of ecstasy-related emergency department (ED) visits in 2009 also involved other drugs, according to data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). Of the estimated 22,816 ecstasy-related ED visits in 2009, approximately one-fourth (26%) involved ecstasy only. One-third involved one other drug, 23% involved two other drugs, and 18% involved three or more drugs. The drugs most commonly involved were alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine (data not shown). These findings, combined with recent increases in indicators of ecstasy use (see CESAR FAX, Volume 20, Issue 12), highlight the importance of  prevention efforts…