The Facts on Substance Abuse in America
Substances/drugs contain chemicals that tap into the brain’s communication system and disrupt the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. There are at least two ways that drugs cause this disruption: (1) by imitating the brain’s natural chemical messengers and (2) by over stimulating the “reward circuit” of the brain. (National Institute of on Drug Abuse).
The facts:
- Estimates of the total overall costs of substance abuse in the United States exceed $600 billion annually. $193 billion for illicit drugs, $193 billion for tobacco, and $235 billion for alcohol (National Drug Intelligence Center (2011).
- By the twelfth grade, about half of adolescents have abused an illicit drug at least once, the most commonly used drug is marijuana. (Monitoring the Future 2014)
- According to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), illicit drug use in the United States has risen to its highest level in eight years.
- An estimated 20 percent of people in the United States have used prescription drugs for reasons other than those they were originally prescribed for. (National Library of Medicine).
- Children who learn about the risk of drugs at home are up to 50 percent less likely to use drugs than those who are not taught about the dangers
Substance Abuse Videos
Truth About Drugs Documentary: Painkillers
PSA: Marijuana Impaired Driving/TV
NYS OASAS YouTube Channel
NIDA for Teens Videos