The Virginia Department of Health tracks the health impacts of using substances like alcohol and cannabis (marijuana). This dashboard uses several data sources to describe substance use in Virginia. While VDH tries to use the most recent years of available data, some data sources are delayed.
This dashboard is updated annually. The next update is Fall 2027.
This page is best viewed on a desktop or laptop computer.
Complete a quick survey to share your experience using VDH drug overdose and substance use data.
Questions? Reach out to Overdose@vdh.virginia.gov.
Learn more about Kratom:
Inpatient Hospitalizations
Definitions:
- Alcohol-Related: acute (like alcohol poisoning) and/or chronic consumption of alcohol (like alcoholic liver disease or gastritis) (ICD-10 codes E244, F101-102, F109, G312, G621, G721, I426, K292, K700, K701-704, K709, K852, K860, O354, P043, Q860, T510, T519, Y904-908)
- Cannabis-Related: acute cannabis poisoning and cannabis abuse, dependence, and use, including cannabis withdrawal (ICD-10 codes P0481, F12, T407)
- Substance Use-Related: all attributable to drugs with potential for abuse and dependence, including heroin poisoning, cocaine poisoning, non-heroin opioid poisoning, benzodiazepine-based tranquilizer poisoning, amphetamine poisoning, cocaine abuse or dependence, and/or opioid abuse or dependence (ICD-10 codes X40–X44, X60–X64, X85, Y10–Y14, and T40.0–T40.6)
Data are Virginia residents who were hospitalized in Virginia and include 100% of Virginia-licensed hospitals.
Rate per 100,000 population is calculated using the CDC National Center for Health Statistics single-race population estimates.
Data are from the Patient-Level Data System from Virginia Health Information and maintained by the Office of Information Management, Virginia Department of Health.
Questions or comments about inpatient hospitalization data can be sent to overdose@vdh.virginia.gov.
Emergency Department Visits
Definitions:
- Cannabis Adverse Effects: Visits with a discharge diagnosis code of cannabis overdose, cannabis abuse/use/dependence with cannabis-induced disorder, or cannabinosis.
- Acute Alcohol Consumption: Visits with chief complaint text or diagnosis codes indicating acute alcohol use. Visits indicating chronic alcohol use without acute drinking were not included.
Data are limited to Virginia residents. Geographic location is assigned based on the patient residential zip code.
Rate per 10,000 ED Visits = Annual ED visits for the condition of interest / total number of ED visits among Virginia residents of a defined geographic area or demographic group. This metric provides a consistent rate calculation across time when the number of facilities reporting data increases or decreases.
Data provide information on health trends rather than exact measure of acute alcohol-related or cannabis adverse effects emergency visits in the community. The number of EDs reporting data increased from 107 in 2020 to 113 in 2024, which may impact observed trends. During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a decrease in the total number of ED visits occurred in Virginia. Because of this change in health care seeking behavior, VDH urges caution when using Rates per 10,000 (10K) ED Visits in 2020-2021. You are encouraged to review the limitations of syndromic surveillance data.
Questions or comments about ED visits data can be sent to the VDH Enhanced Surveillance Team at syndromic@vdh.virginia.gov.
Alcohol-Related Deaths
Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI) is an online CDC application that provides national and state estimates of alcohol-related health impacts, including deaths and years of potential life lost (YPLL). These estimates are calculated for 58 acute and chronic causes using alcohol-attributable fractions
Data are analyzed by VDH and provided by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Alcohol Related Disease Impact (ARDI) Application. ARDI may underestimate the actual number of alcohol-related deaths.
Questions or comments about ARDI data can be sent to overdose@vdh.virginia.gov.
Health Surveys
- Virginia Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Data on a variety of health conditions and behaviors are collected from Virginia students every other year through a VDH project funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Responses are self-reported and limited to students attending public schools.
- Virginia Adult Health Survey: Data on a variety of health conditions and behaviors are collected via telephone survey through a VDH project funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. BRFSS is limited by its low response rate and self-report measures.
- Virginia Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System: Data are from a Virginia Department of Health survey that uses a weighted sample of Virginians with recent live births. Responses are limited by self-report.
- National Survey on Drug Use and Health: The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is administered by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), collecting data on substance use, mental illness, and treatment in the civilian noninstitutionalized US population 12 or older. Responses are self-reported and do not include military, individuals living in group settings such as hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, or treatment centers, or unhoused populations.
Questions or comments about health survey data can be sent to overdose@vdh.virginia.gov or population.health@vdh.virginia.gov.