STATISTICS & TRENDS

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Alcohol Addiction and Mortality Rates Have Soared Since Pandemic

Alcohol addiction and alcohol-related deaths have increased dramatically in recent years. Today, alcohol consumption is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the United States. Yet, unlike the opioid epidemic, alcohol misuse receives little...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Smokescreen: What the Marijuana Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know by Kevin Sabet

Who is Kevin Sabet and why is he qualified to reveal the secrets of the marijuana industry? For starters, here are his credentials.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Seizures of Counterfeit Pills in the U.S. Soar in Recent Months

Drug trends across America are always changing, hence the importance of monitoring such trends. The most recent drug trend to take America by storm is the sinister distribution of fake prescription drugs, labeled as coveted painkillers but containing lethal...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Teen Overdoses at All-Time High, Parents Must Act

Preserving the health and safety of teens is priority #1 for parents. Every parent wants their sons and daughters to grow up to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. With that in mind, it is extremely worrisome that teen drug overdose deaths have more than...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Does Removing Criminal Penalties for Drug Use Lead to More Drug Use?

Does it really make sense to blanket legalize drugs? On the other hand, does it really make sense to continue the War on Drugs? Or is it possible that leaving some penalties in place but altering or lessening them if treatment is completed might be more...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Drunk and High, The Worst Combination Possible for Getting Behind the Wheel

In the field of substance abuse, three connected factors are setting the stage for serious harm on America’s roads.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Tracing A Network of Crime: How Pharma Distributors Acted as the Middlemen in the Opioid Epidemic

In the now two-decade-long opioid epidemic in the U.S., pharmaceutical opioid manufacturers, pharmacies, and doctors have all come under fire for the role they played in the surge of opioid addiction and death. One group, previously unnoticed and only...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Oregon’s Big Drug Decriminalization Gamble

Oregon decriminalized personal-use quantities of drugs in 2020 with the intention that this new law would help drug users go to rehab rather than jail. This has turned out to be a big gamble that the State was possibly not ready for.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Fentanyl Is Now the Leading Cause of Death for Adults Ages 18 to 45

One of the findings in the CDC’s 2020 Cause of Death report was that overdose deaths caused by fentanyl were the leading cause of death for adults ages 18 to 45. At first, this key fact went almost unnoticed. Only now is this critical issue getting the...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Scotland’s Drug Problem Then and Now

Headline after headline has broken with the news that Scotland is in the midst of the worst drug problem in Europe with the highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the region. And while this public health crisis is certainly newsworthy, some key details...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

The State of Teen Drug Use: What Are the Real Numbers?

Are our children using more drugs or less these days? How about drinking and binge drinking? Actually, quite a bit of the information is positive.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Alcohol’s “New Normal”

Our world has changed in the last few years, and along with those changes, patterns of alcohol consumption have shifted. But that shift may not be the one you expect.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

One State’s Discovery Reveals the Demographic Hit Hardest by Opioid Addiction

A recent Massachusetts study sought to determine which demographics have been hit hardest by the opioid crisis. As it turns out, mainly working-class, blue-collar residents in construction, agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, and industrial jobs have...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Washington State Takes Big Pharma to Trial

In a rare turn of events, Washington State has decided to move away from proposed settlements with pharma giants and instead take several corporations to trial for the role they played in creating the opioid epidemic.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

How Does Drug Use Effect Sleep?

For those who want to sleep better, the science is quite clear: It’s smart to avoid the use of illicit drugs or the misuse of prescription drugs.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

A First-Hand Account of The Empire of Pain

For anyone touched by America’s opioid epidemic and anyone who has followed the development of this crisis, as I have, Patrick Radden Keefe’s new book adds to our knowledge of the steps that must be taken to heal from our crisis of drugs abuse and...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Criminal Acts: How Pharma Companies Pushed Drugs They Knew Were Addictive and Dangerous

The Sackler Family and Purdue Pharmaceuticals deny any responsibility for the role they played in creating the opioid addiction epidemic. And while the most recent litigation against Purdue/the Sackler family ended in immunity for them and an abdication...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Athletes at Risk: Drug Use in Amateur, Elite and Professional Sports

We don’t usually hear about our sports heroes using drugs or drinking excessively until their careers founder or come crashing down. The lucky ones recover from addiction and often go on to work hard to save other people’s lives. The unluckiest ones...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Federal Judge Overturns Sackler/Purdue Pharma Bid for Bankruptcy Protection

In an alarming development in the ongoing litigation between thousands of plaintiffs against Purdue Pharmaceuticals (and the Sackler family that owns it), a federal judge just overturned the Sackler bid for bankruptcy protection and immunity. What does...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Teva Pharmaceuticals Found Guilty

In the slew of recent lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, yet another loss for Big Pharma was announced on December 30th, 2021, in the case of New York State against Teva Pharmaceuticals.