Characteristics of Adults Aged 18 Years Evaluated for Substance Use and Treatment Planning United States, 2019 MMWR
From 2019 to 2020, the drug overdose death rate increased 31.0% from 21.6 to 28.3, which was the largest annual increase over the period 2002–2022. From illicit drugs to prescription medications, alcohol, and tobacco, the landscape of substance abuse is complex and multifaceted. In both 2021 and 2022, rates were highest for American Indian and Alaska Native people and lowest among Asian people. Between 2021 and 2022, rates of drug overdose deaths increased for most race and Hispanic-origin groups. Rates decreased for White and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander people, although the decrease among Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander people was not significant. Addressing the nation’s mental health crisis and drug overdose epidemic are core pillars of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Unity Agenda.
- Information on commonly used drugs with the potential for misuse or addiction can be found here.
- By targeting teenagers for rehabilitation, it may be possible to lower the number of life-long drug users.
- It is widely abused by people from all backgrounds and walks of life.
- Consistent with previous research on substance use patterns in the general population (1), men accounted for the majority of assessments for substance use treatment.
The CDC has not yet reported overdose numbers for last year, although provisional data through the first ten months of the year suggest overdose deaths continued to be stable in 2023. The female overdose death rate declined for the first time in five years, although performance-enhancing drugs: know the risks the male overdose death rate continued to inch up, the report said. Earlier provisional data estimated more than 109,000 overdose deaths in 2022, but provisional data includes all overdose deaths, while the final numbers are limited to U.S. residents.
Marijuana and hallucinogen use among young adults reached all time-high in 2021
Other states with a high percentage of adult drug users are Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia. The lowest percentage of adult drug users are located in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Virginia. The results were gathered from a nationally representative sample, and the data were statistically weighted to provide national numbers. This year, 11% of the 12th grade students who took the survey identified as African American, 22% as Hispanic, 5% as Asian, 1% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 47% as white, 1% as Middle Eastern, and 14% as more than one of the preceding categories. The survey also asks respondents to identify as male, female, other, or prefer not to answer.
Death rates for Asian, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Hispanic people are affected by misclassification of race and Hispanic origin on death certificates (7). This misclassification results in underestimation of death rates for these groups by about 3% for Asian and Hispanic people and by about 34% for American Indian and Alaska Native people (8). Misclassification for Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander people has not been evaluated. The extent of misclassification has not been evaluated by cause of death for all race and Hispanic-origin groups.
Drug Use by State 2024
For more information, see our report on alcohol abuse and alcohol-related deaths. Check out our blog posts and resource links for the latest information on substance abuse. You could accidentally overdose on fentanyl without even knowing that you’re taking it. In Ohio, the number addiction relapse of drugs testing positive for fentanyl rose by 196% in a single year between 2014 and 2015. When it’s used illegally, fentanyl is usually snorted, smoked, or taken orally. This means drug dealers and manufacturers cut other drugs with fentanyl to increase the potency.
Kratom is consumed for mood-lifting effects and pain relief and as an aphrodisiac. Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a depressant approved for use in the treatment of narcolepsy, a disorder that causes daytime « sleep attacks ». As with pain relievers, there are many Americans that take these medications as-needed for relief from muscle pain and anxiety who do not become addicted.
Drug use in the U.S. – Statistics & Facts
Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Iowa, and Montana are the states with the fewest overdose deaths. Only Iowa and Montana were not also in the list of states with the lowest percentage of adult drug users. SAMHSA’s mission is to lead public health and service delivery efforts that promote mental health, prevent substance misuse, and provide treatments and supports to foster recovery while ensuring equitable access and better outcomes. These drugs also have a high potential for abuse; this may or may not be due to addictive properties.
Medications that increase alertness, attention, energy, blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate. All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated. NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow explains why we study teen drug use and shares a message to parents & teen influencers. The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of « Drug use in the U.S. » and take you straight to the corresponding statistics.
We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. Estimates are presented by age group and by race/ethnicity for selected measures. The signs include blue or gray skin, clammy skin, inability to respond when spoken to or touched, and unconsciousness. MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report are service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.