This report presents the first information from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an annual survey of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States aged 12 years old or older. Prior to 2002, the survey was called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA). This brief Overview report provides a concise summary of the main results from the 2002 NSDUH. A more complete presentation of the initial results of the survey is given in the full report, "Results from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings." Both reports present the results in separate chapters that discuss the national findings on eight topics: use of illicit drugs; use of alcohol; use of tobacco products; trends in lifetime use of substances; trends in initiation of substance use; prevention-related issues; substance dependence, abuse, and treatment; and mental health. A final chapter summarizes the results and discusses key findings in relation to other research and survey results. Measures related to mental health problems also are included. A discussion of the changes in survey methodology, some of the reasons for these changes, and their impact on survey estimates is also outlined. This Overview report includes two tables showing the prevalence of substance use by age in an appendix. (GCP)