According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) survey, heroin emergencies declined by 17 percent in the Baltimore area last year. The rate drops the city from third to fifth nationally in terms of the number of residents who visited emergency rooms with problems related to the use of illegal and prescription drugs.

"This is not a one-year fluke," said Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, the city's health commissioner. "It is a continuing trend and reflects enhanced treatment, along with smarter policing."

Beilenson credited the drop in drug-related hospital visits to increases in state and federal aid, additional spending on drug treatment in the past three years, and a shift in the criminal-justice system from jailing nonviolent drug abusers to helping them find treatment.

Cities rating higher than Baltimore for most emergency-room visits linked to drug use were Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.

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