13% Of Adult Emergency Department Patients Have Problem Drug Use

About 13% of adult emergency department patients have problem drug use. They represent 64% of adult emergency department patients who report using illegal drugs within the past 30 days.  Problem drug use is correlated with resource-intense emergency department triage level and perceived drug-relatedness of the emergency department visit. Among those who report past-month drug use, 74% report regular tobacco use. About 71% of those who report past-month drug use and regular tobacco use have problem drug use. Among non-smokers who report past-month drug use, 46% have problem drug use.

Among those who primarily use . . .