Alcohol, cannabis, and opioids the most prevalent substances reported in drug-related ED visits
A new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that in 2023 there were approximately 7.59 million drug-related ED visits, a 5.8% increase from 2022. Alcohol was the most prevalent substance reported in drug-related ED visits (41%), followed by cannabis (11.8%), and opioids (11.6%).
DAWN is a national public health surveillance system that gathers data from hospital electronic health records on emergency department visits involving alcohol or drug intoxication, overdose or poisoning, suicide attempts with drug use, withdrawals, or adverse drug reactions. The data is categorized into four different categories: 1) all drug-related ED visits, 2) primary substances involved at ED visits, 3) opioid-related ED visits, and 4) polysubstance use-related ED visits.
Other Findings:
Nearly half of opioid-related visits (47.7%) involved prescription or other opioids, with oxycodone being the most commonly reported.
About one-third of visits involved fentanyl (31.5%) or heroin (27.0%).
Fentanyl-related visits surged by 46.0% compared to 2022, while heroin-related visits declined sharply by 40.8%.
Polysubstance use, involving more than one substance, played a significant role in 21.6% of all drug-related ED visits:
Alcohol was the most frequently reported substance in polysubstance cases, contributing to 610,477 visits. However, 83.1% of alcohol-related visits were alcohol-only, with 16.9% involving other substances.
Polysubstance use was especially prevalent among ED visits involving cocaine (72.5%) or benzodiazepines (70.7%).
Common combinations with cocaine included alcohol, cannabis, or fentanyl.
For benzodiazepines, the most frequent pairings were alcohol, cannabis, and prescription opioids.
These statistics highlight evolving trends in drug-related emergencies and the growing complexity of substance use, emphasizing the need for continued focus on public health interventions and awareness.