Posted August 26, 2002
(MarijuanaNews note: This is appalling. Of course, the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is a part of
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), so one should not be
surprised that it has been politicized.

Nonetheless, this is just one more example of the prostitution of science by
the prohibitionist propaganda machine.

Science is supposed to be a methodical pursuit of the truth, but under
authoritarian regimes is just one more tool used to control the public, with the
willing or unwilling cooperation of the media. In this case it does not appear
to be too successful. It was not even on the Yahoo Reuters news index.

The only coverage that I have been able to find was in the Las Vegas Sun –
excerpt below.

The Sun did not fall for it. However, the real stories here are being
concealed or ignored.

First, marijuana is clearly not a public health problem. Second, the abuse of
prescription drugs is a very serious part of the supposed drug problem. And
perhaps the most significant story should be that SAMSHA has been prostituted to
the drug war.

SAMSHA is supposed to be a scientific survey service, in stead it has just
become one more drug war camp follower, whoring along with NIDA and all the
rest.

For a recent history of the prostitution of science to the prohibitionist
ideology
See


“Number Jumble Clouds Judgment of Drug War” - The Washington Post Gets Critical?
and

Medical Marijuana and the Degradation of Science — NIDA Funds More Than 85
Percent Of The World’s Research On Health Aspects Of “Drug Abuse” And Addiction
and Suppresses Medical Marijuana.
and links

To put all of the following into context, there are nearly 100 million
emergency room visits for all reasons each year. That number is
surprisingly hard to find, and it certainly is not mentioned
below.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 21, 2002
Press Contact: Leah Young
Phone: (301) 443-8956

Marijuana, Cocaine Emergency Department Visits Up
SAMHSA Releases 2001 DAWN Survey

Emergency department mentions of cocaine increased 10 percent and marijuana
increased 15 percent from 2000 to 2001, according to new data in the Drug Abuse
Warning Network (DAWN) released today by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS).

The 2001 DAWN data show 638,484 drug-related hospital
emergency department visits in the continental United States in 2001, an
increase of 6 percent over 2000 for both visits to emergency departments
involving drugs and in mentions of drugs. In DAWN a
single drug abuse episode may have multiple drug mentions.
(MarijuanaNews note: At least they call the
data by the correct name — “mentions” — but the press release obscures the
meaning to mislead the public, especially about marijuana.

The DAWN system asks ER patients what illegal drugs they have
used and as many as five drugs can be “mentioned” for a single visit. If someone
goes to the ER with any kind of problem they are asked these questions for
perfectly valid medical reasons. After all a doctor needs to know what drugs the
patient may have taken, before he makes a diagnosis or prescription. Even
marijuana.

But if a person is going through withdrawal from heroin or cocaine and is
self-medicating with marijuana, this will go down as a marijuana “mention.”

However, even the choice of questions is political. Alcohol is listed on
SAMSHA questionnaires only if it has been used in combination with an illegal
substance.

Nonetheless, “alcohol in combination with…” is more than twice
marijuana mentions. Alcohol in combination with other drugs increased 36
percent, from 160,798 to 218,005, between 1994 and 2001.
It is one third of all the DAWN mentions.

However, that does not begin to measure the alcohol problem. Between 20
percent and 30 percent of patients who show up in emergency rooms have alcohol
problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly
half of alcohol-related deaths are the result of motor-vehicle crashes, falls,
fires, drowning, homicides and suicides. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism says about 14 million Americans are alcoholic or abuse alcohol.
The institute also says 53 percent of adult Americans say they have a close
relative with a drinking problem.

For more information about alcoholism, go to the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism.

That means that alcohol accounts for roughly 25% of all emergency room
visits. Marijuana mentions, even with everything else – including alcohol –
involved less than one tenth of one percent of such visits.

If marijuana is to blame for all of the visits in which it was mentioned, and
even the prohibitionists do not claim that, and if ten times as many people use
alcohol as use marijuana, which is a guess, then alcohol would cause twenty
five times as many emergency room visits per user as marijuana.

In fact, that greatly over states the relative danger of marijuana, but think
of that the next time you hear a nark compare the two.

By the way, marijuana-only mentions were only 24 percent of all marijuana
mentions, roughly one quarter of one tenth of one percent of all emergency room
visits. These may be panic reactions by inexperienced users, but even here
marijuana use may not be the cause of the visit.

“In 2001, nearly half (45%) of episodes involving heroin involved only heroin
and nearly half (45%) of episodes involving methamphetamine involved only
methamphetamine. By contrast, only 28 percent of episodes involving cocaine
involved cocaine alone, and only 24 percent of episodes involving
marijuana involved marijuana alone By definition, all DAWN ED episodes
involving alcohol also involved another drug.”
From

http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/DAWN/Final2k1EDtrends/text/EDtrend2001v6.pdf
page 31.

This means that there were only about 25,000 marijuana-only mentions
out of the 638,484 “drug-related hospital emergency department visits” out of a
total of almost one hundred million ER visits.)

Marijuana mentions, which rose to the same level as heroin mentions in 1997,
continued to increase. Marijuana mentions increased 15 percent from 96,426 to
110,512 between 2000 and 2001 and were concentrated in patients aged 12-34.

(MarijuanaNews note: Notice the pointless comparison with heroin mentions,
and the reference to 12 year-olds. Most illegal drug use is among people under
35, so it is hardly surprising that they should be so over-represented in ERs.)

Increases for marijuana were reported in Minneapolis, San Diego, Seattle, San
Francisco and Baltimore. Decreases were recorded only in New Orleans.

This report shows one more cost of drug abuse to our society, said Health and
Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. We must continue to strengthen our
prevention programs and build substance abuse treatment capacity so that people
don’t abuse drugs and end up in costly emergency departments, taking resources
away from other urgent care needs.

Marijuana-related medical emergencies are
increasing at an alarming rate, exceeding even those for heroin.

(MarijuanaNews note: First, these mentions are not “marijuana-related
medical emergencies.” If he does not know that then Thompson has no business
being the Health and Human Services Secretary. On the other hand, if he does
know this, and is lying, then he is ideally suited to be Drug Czar, but Walters
is even better at lying.

Of course, he is just following in the footsteps of his predecessor at HHS,
Dona Shalala.
See


Shalala Says That Parents Are Wrong To Be Relieved
That Their Children Are Using Marijuana Instead Of Heroin!
Survey Results From California Do Not Support Party Line, So They Are Buried.

and

New Survey And Shalala Says, “It looks like we have turned the corner.”
Maybe Because We Have Been Around This Block Before?
The Emphasis Is On Marijuana But Alcohol Remains The Big Problem

Second, the comparison with heroin is completely pointless and political.
After all, there are almost certainly far more real emergency room admissions
for broken toes than for broken necks. Does this mean that broken toes are a
bigger problem than broken necks?

There are at least 20 to 60 times as many marijuana users as heroin users. So
the fact that there are more marijuana-mentions than heroin mentions proves
nothing – even without the qualitative differences in the seriousness of the
cases and even without knowing that these are mentions, not causes.)

This report helps dispel the pervasive myth that marijuana is harmless, said
White House Drug Czar John Walters.
See
Is
marijuana really harmless, like everyone has been saying?
and
The Myth That The
Washington Post and John Walters Are ‘Harmless’; Drug Czar Puts Hyperlying About
Cannabis At The Center of the War on Freedom.
and
Marijuana Bigger Problem
Than Meth? DEAland And The Bush Administration Have a Very Serious Walters
Problem. We Couldn’t Make This Up!

In reality, marijuana is a dangerous drug, and adults and youth alike should
be aware of the serious consequences that can come from smoking it.
(MarijuanaNews note:
In fact, this report demonstrates that cannabis is
not a major public health problem.)

Cocaine mentions increased 10 percent, from 174,881 to
193,034 from 2000 to 2001, with 24 percent of these mentions attributed to
crack. Increases for cocaine were noted in
Atlanta, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Boston.

Decreases in cocaine reports occurred in New Orleans, San Diego and Dallas.

Eight out of every 10 drug mentions come from seven substances, alcohol in
combination with other drugs; cocaine, marijuana, heroin, benzodiazepines,
antidepressants and analgesics, said SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie.
Dependence and suicide were the most frequently cited motives for taking
substances. People need to know help is available, treatment is effective and
recovery is possible.

Heroin mentions (93,064) were statistically unchanged from 2000 to 2001.
Increases in heroin mentions in emergency departments were evident in Atlanta,
Minneapolis, Detroit, Denver, Miami, and Boston. Decreases occurred in New
Orleans, San Diego, Seattle, Baltimore, Newark and Los Angeles.

Methamphetamine showed no significant nationwide change in the number of
mentions between 2000 and 2001. Emergency Department mentions of methamphetamine
in 2001 were concentrated in five western cities, Los Angeles, San Diego, San
Francisco, Phoenix and Seattle. Among these cities, methamphetamine mentions
increased 10 percent in Los Angeles and decreased 27 percent in Seattle.
Amphetamines mentions did not change significantly between 2000 and 2001, and
were also concentrated in the same western cities.

There were no significant changes in reports of club drugs between 2000 and
2001. However, emergency department mentions of MDMA (Ecstasy) were nearly
double the levels from 1999 (5,542 versus 2,850 in 1999). In 2001, DAWN
estimates 3,340 episodes involved GHB, and 679 involved Ketamine.

Other club drugs like flunitrazepam, known as Rohypnol, had estimates too
imprecise for publication from 1995 through 2001. Ecstasy increased in emergency
department mentions in Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Decreases
were seen in Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle.

Ecstasy mentions were highest in the 18-25 age group, at 10 mentions per
100,000 population. There were no significant increases in GHB, but decreases
were evident in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago.

DAWN estimates indicate that alcohol in combination
with other drugs was statistically unchanged from 2000 to 2001,
but mentions increased 36 percent, from 160,798 to
218,005, between 1994 and 2001. Increases in mentions of alcohol in
combination with other drugs were found in Minneapolis, Washington DC, San
Francisco, Boston, Miami, Phoenix, and
Baltimore. A decrease in mentions of alcohol in combination with other drugs was
found in New Orleans.

Mentions of hallucinogens such as LSD and PCP remained stable from 2000 to 2001.
PCP incidences rose in Washington DC and Philadelphia. There were no significant
increases seen for LSD, but there were decreases evident in Phoenix, Seattle,
Chicago and Los Angeles.

Mentions of inhalants in emergency departments decreased
56 percent from 2000 to 2001 from 1,522 to 676.
(MarijuanaNews note: That is very good news, but it
should be noted that during this time no adults were arrested for possession of
inhalants, all of which are legal substances, which – according to the
prohibitionist ideology — should mean that they are harmless for children.)

DAWN estimates that 43 percent of the 1.1 million
emergency department drug-mentions in 2001 were primarily the nonmedical use of
legal prescription or non-prescription medications. There were 220,289
mentions of psychotherapeutic agents (19 percent) and 210,685 mentions of
central nervous system agents (18 percent).
(MarijuanaNews note: Now here is the real story, other
than the fact that marijuana accounts for such a small number of emergency room
visits. But don’t tell Jeb Bush.)
See
Two More Stories from The
UK That We Couldn’t Make Up: 10,000 Scots Addicted To Dangerous Over-The-Counter
Drugs and Bristol Police Drunk and Lewd At “Anti-Drug” Benefit.

Among the psychotherapeutic agents, anxiolytics (anti-anxiety drugs),
sedatives and hypnotics comprised 12 percent of total drug-related emergency
department mentions (135,949). This includes abuse of benzodiazepines (103,972
mentions). There were 61,012 mentions of antidepressants. From 2000-2001,
mentions of benzodiazepines rose 14 percent from 91,078 to 103,972. Among the
benzodiazepines with significant increases from 2000 to 2001, alprazolam (drugs
such as, but not limited to, Xanax) mentions were
up 16 percent from 22,105 to 25,644.

Non-specified benzodiazepines were up 35 percent, from 22,376 to 30,302.
(MarijuanaNews note: “Taken together, the benzodiazepines,
antidepressants, and analgesics constituted 339,484 ED mentions in 2001, or
nearly 30 percent of total ED drug mentions.”
From

http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/DAWN/Final2k1EDtrends/text/EDtrend2001v6.pdf
page 108)

Among the central nervous system agents, narcotic analgesics and combinations
were the most frequently mentioned in drug-related emergency department visits
in 2001, constituting 9 percent of all emergency department mentions (99,317).
Mentions of these narcotic analgesics and combinations rose 44 percent from 1999
to 2001 and 21 percent from 2000 to 2001.

Significant long-term increases in emergency department mentions of narcotic
analgesics and combinations were found for hydrocodone and its combinations (up
131 percent since 1994), methadone (up 230 percent), morphine and its
combinations (up 210 percent), oxycodone and its combinations (up 352 percent)
and narcotic analgesics that were not specified (up 288 percent).

In one year, from 2000 to 2001, methadone mentions increased by 37 percent, and
oxycodone and its combinations rose 70 percent. Unspecified narcotic analgesics
rose 24 percent. Mentions of analgesics containing hydrocodone were
statistically unchanged from 2000 to 2001, but were 41 percent higher than in
1999.

The DAWN system also captures the nonmedical uses of new drugs approved by the
Food and Drug Administration. Over the period 1994-2001, there were over 1,000
mentions each for 7 new drugs, citalopram, mirtazapine and
nefazodone, which are antidepressants; olanzapine and quetiapine, which are
antipsychotics; and tramadol and Cox-2 inhibitors, which are analgesics.
See
Two More Stories from The
UK That We Couldn’t Make Up: 10,000 Scots Addicted To Dangerous Over-The-Counter
Drugs and Bristol Police Drunk and Lewd At “Anti-Drug” Benefit.

DAWN is a nationally representative survey of hospitals with emergency
departments conducted annually by SAMHSA. In 2001, 458 hospitals participated in
DAWN. The survey is designed to provide information about emergency department
visits that are induced by or related to the use of an illegal drug or the
nonmedical use of a legal drug. Because up to 4 drugs can be reported for each
emergency department visit, there are more mentions than visits. The survey also
provides estimates for 21 metropolitan areas. DAWN does not measure the
frequency or prevalence of drug use in the population, but rather the health
consequences of drug use that are reflected in visits to hospital emergency
departments. The complete report (text and tables) are available online at

http://www.DrugAbuseStatistics.samhsa.gov.

People looking for help for their friends, family members or themselves can call
SAMHSA’s 24-hour Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP or go to SAMHSA’s website at
www.samhsa.gov and click on Get
Help for Substance Abuse.

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. Its mission is to improve the quality and availability of substance
abuse prevention, addiction treatment and mental health services in the United
States. Information on SAMHSA’s programs is available on the Internet at
www.samhsa.gov.

Excerpted From The Las Vegas Sun
By Cy Ryan, Sun Capital Bureau
August 23, 2002
letters@lasvegassun.com
http://www.lasvegassun.com/

More Patients at ERs Citing Pot Use
(MarijuanaNews note: This begins rather badly by appearing
to give credence to this blatant prohibitionist propaganda, but it does very
well by going to ER doctors to get the real picture. I have not seen any other
coverage of this report, so the narks are not doing very well on this latest
assault on science.)

A federal study that shows drug-related emergency room visits are on the rise
takes aim at marijuana use. The survey, by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, said drug-related emergency room visits rose 6 percent
in 2001 over the previous year, to 638,484.

The number of times marijuana was mentioned as a drug patients used rose 15
percent, the study said, greater than the increase in cocaine use, which rose 10
percent, and heroin and methamphetamine, which were unchanged.

The study, which surveys 458 hospital emergency rooms nationwide, comes as
Nevada and Arizona consider ballot questions that would legalize or
decriminalize marijuana.

“Marijuana-related medical emergencies are increasing at an alarming rate,
exceeding even those for heroin,” White House Drug Czar John Walters said in a
prepared statement. “This report helps dispel the pervasive myth that marijuana
is harmless.

“In reality, marijuana is a dangerous drug, and adults and youth alike should
be aware of the serious consequences that can come from smoking it.”

Billy Rogers, leader of the campaign to pass Nevada’s ballot question, which
would legalize possession of up to three ounces of
marijuana, disputed the conclusions.
See
I’m A Legalizer. What Are
You? The Nevada Fiasco. Analysis by Richard Cowan

“They’re not talking about marijuana emergencies,” Rogers said. “Nobody has
died from an overdose of marijuana.”

When patients go to an emergency room, they are asked what, if any, drugs
they have taken. The federal Drug Abuse Warning Network counts the mentions of
illegal drugs and misused prescription drugs reported by patients, and those are
compiled into the twice-a-year study. Often patients said they had taken more
than one drug.

Alcohol in combination with other drugs was the most frequently mentioned
nationwide, at 34 percent, with cocaine at 30 percent, marijuana at 17 percent
and heroin, 15 percent.

Marijuana had been used in combination with other drugs 76 percent of the
time it was mentioned; 24 percent of the time, it was the sole drug used.

The increase in marijuana use reflected in emergency room visits drew federal
concern. Between 1994 and 2001, mentions of marijuana per 100,000 emergency room
patients rose 151 percent, compared with 34 percent for heroin and 22 percent
for cocaine.

The rate for patients age 12 to 17, although stable from 2000 to 2001,
increased 23 percent from 1999 to 2001, the report said.

“The clear message of the DAWN survey is that in already crowded emergency
rooms, increasingly, one of the reasons people are showing up is marijuana use,”
said Mark Weber, spokesman for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration.
(MarijuanaNews note: One quarter of one tenth of one
percent of such visits is a problem?)

“It’s taking resources from other parts of the health care sector. If you
have 10 people in a room, how do you prioritize?”
(MarijuanaNews note: You let the one quarter of one tenth
of one percent who do not know how to hold their weed wait until it wears off.
Buy them a Coca-Cola. That’s what they do in Dutch coffee shops.)

The study gave separate reports for 21 cities, but Las Vegas was not among
them. Neither the state nor county health division had statistics for Nevada or
Las Vegas on those treated in emergency rooms with marijuana problems, and
University Medical Center does not track drug use by type of drug, a spokesman
said.

Local paramedics said they have noticed an increase in drug use overall in
Las Vegas, but not in marijuana, said Tammy Bame, spokeswoman for American
Medical Response.

“No one seems to feel there is an increase,” Bame said. “There’s nothing that
really stands out.”

AMR paramedic Shannon Cavey said Thursday the top drugs she sees in the Las
Vegas area are crystal meth, GHB and Ecstasy, drugs not frequently used with
marijuana.

“We see a lot more of those than people just getting high (on marijuana),”
Cavey said.

Alcohol, another depressant, is the drug most commonly associated with
marijuana use, she said.

In fact, pot is rarely a topic during her shifts, she said.

“I don’t hear about it much in the field,” Cavey said.

An informal poll at Valley Hospital showed a similar result. Emergency room
personnel have not noticed any increase in marijuana-related cases, spokeswoman
Gretchen Pappas said.

“We haven’t seen anything like that,” Pappas said.

Weber, of SAMHSA, agreed that in Western cities use of club drugs and
methamphetamine has been more prevalent since the early 1990s. But across the
country, he said, more young people are in drug treatment for marijuana
dependence that all other illegal drugs combined.
(MarijuanaNews note: Another lie.)
See

The Real Data On Teen Marijuana “Abuse Treatment” – What The Media Don’t Tell
Us:
“Half of marijuana treatment admissions were referred through the criminal
justice system.” — Analysis By Richard Cowan
and
Conference On Rehab
Racketeers Tied To Bush Will Raise Important Issues: Saving Children From Drug
Treatment Abuse. Saving DEAland from Drug War Lite. A Conference That Should
Embarrass Washington.

As with any depressant, marijuana can be dangerous when taken with other
depressants, Cavey said. However, a marijuana-only overdose is rare, said Cavey,
who has been a paramedic for 10 years.

“I have never even seen anyone overdose on marijuana,” Cavey said. “It’s
always been mixed with something else.”

Copyright: 2002 Las Vegas Sun, Inc.

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