Call Data from the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center's Poison Help Line
The Substance Use Exposure Dashboard provides local information about the health impacts of substance use (alcohol, marijuana and opioids) in Denver County. Help Line data only represent part of the surveillance picture for substance use. Health surveys, emergency department and hospital discharge records, fatal vehicle crash records, and substance use treatment programs also provide useful information.
Key Findings
- Opioid-related calls are most common, followed by calls about alcohol and marijuana exposures.
- The number of calls about marijuana remained relatively flat during the time when marijuana was only legal for medical use (2001-2013). Calls rose briefly in 2014 following legalization of recreational marijuana use and are trending downward since.
- The numbers of calls related to opioids and alcohol have been trending downward since 2008.
- Most calls for all three substances are related to eating or drinking the substance. Fewer calls were attributed to smoking or injecting substances.