STATISTICS & TRENDS

STATISTICS & TRENDS

An Overview of Nations, Looking at the Prescription Drug Problem on a Global Scale

Drug addiction in the United States is an expanding problem. While we might not want to admit it, much of what created the addiction epidemic that we face today was the rapid expansion of the pharmaceutical industry, the lack of regulation in that industry,...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

The Connection between Binge Drinking and Opioid Use

In a concerning research paper published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it was found that more than half of the 4.2 million people in the United States who misused prescription opioids between 2012 and 2014 also struggled with binge...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

We are Polluting Our Waterways with Drugs

Can you imagine drug use becoming so prolific, so frequent, so regular and mainstream that our waterways would become contaminated with drug residues? It’s almost unfathomable to imagine this as a true fact, but news stories, research papers, and opinion...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Excessive Dental Opioid Prescribing an Anomaly in the U.S.

It is safe to say that treating oral pain problems is something that dentists often have to do. But how they go about treating such symptoms is another matter entirely.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Slow Progress in Fighting The Addiction Epidemic

After working with hundreds of people who struggled with addiction over the last eight years, I’ve often wondered if our country’s drug problem has an end in sight. I’ve seen addiction in my fellow man in one form or another all my life.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

The Connection between the FDA, Pharmaceutical Companies, and Addiction

One of the most common questions I hear regarding addiction is, “How did the addiction epidemic get so bad?” And I can see why people ask this.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

A Planet Drowning in Alcohol

We might not think of alcohol when we think of the world’s most addictive or harmful drug, but alcohol is up there, completely dwarfing narcotic drugs and mind-altering substances. Alcohol is a drug, in every sense of the word, and just because it is...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Alcohol Misuse in Rural Communities—Why Drinking Ends Up Being a “Way of Life” in the Country

According to the Treatment Episode Data Set Report (a research project done by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), about 50 percent of treatment center admissions in rural America are for alcohol.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Opioid Prescribing to Young People Still Ongoing

For years, finding data on young adult and adolescent opioid prescribing was more akin to a deep sea treasure hunt than a cursory scan of the internet. There just wasn’t a lot of information out there. But now that’s changing. People are becoming more...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

How Might Doctors Refocus Post-Operation Opioid Prescribing?

Opioid addiction is the most discussed, most concerning, and most lethal drug addiction problem in the United States today. News of opioid dependence hits media headlines weekly. It is a national public health emergency that threatens the very viability...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Decriminalization, Legalization, or Diversion—What’s the Right Solution?

As our great nation continues to struggle with a sweeping drug problem, the American people have attempted to create new ways and means of addressing that problem. Not all such approaches have been successful or sensible.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Treating Pain While Avoiding Addiction—How Can We Help Pain Patients and Also Reduce Opioid Consumption?

An article in the Washington Post from early April 2019 focuses on Kirsten Gillibrand, a Senator from New York and a possible contender for the presidential candidacy in 2020. The article discusses Gillibrand’s efforts to curb the opioid crisis and the...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

The True Cost of Addiction—Sex, Money and Corruption

60 medical experts are currently under federal charges for doling out highly addictive and potentially lethal opioid pharmaceuticals for money or sexual favors from addicts, or for cash incentives from crooked pharmacies.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Deaths Related to Fentanyl Are Skyrocketing

If you’ve heard of fentanyl, odds are you know something about just how dangerous and risky this drug is. By itself, the opioid drug fentanyl causes thousands upon thousands of overdose deaths every year. And it happens even when someone is using the...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Overdose Rates among American Youth Back on the Rise

Hearing about the effects of our country’s drug addiction epidemic is difficult. It's never a pleasant subject to talk about. But, when we hear about drug addiction or alcoholism occurring in young people, that particular crisis carries with it an extra...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

How Opioid Pain Reliever Drugs Changed the Drug Addiction Scene

When we work to address the current drug addiction epidemic that has swept our country, we must accept a universal truth. The truth is that the mass introduction of opioid pharmaceuticals (and other addictive pharmaceuticals, for that matter) onto the...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Millennials to Inherit More Than Debt, They Face Drug Addiction In Record Numbers

It doesn’t take a lot of effort to hear something mentioned that is negative or discouraging about the day-to-day lives of millennials. They’re up to their ears in student debt. They’re having a harder time finding jobs which can support a comfortable...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

The Opioid Update

Just about every day when I turn on the news, I see some update or media clip regarding the opioid addiction epidemic. Everywhere we look, opioid addiction disrupts our civilization and stains our communities with its toxic hold on millions of Americans....

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Arkansas, Addiction Crisis. Holding Pharma Accountable, and Helping Those Addicted

Arkansas recently made national news when the state’s attorney general sued three major drug distributors for their alleged role in creating and adding to the opioid addiction epidemic. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge claimed that Cardinal Health, McKesson...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

We Just Celebrated National Prescription Drug Take Back Day—What’s Next?

April 27th was “Prescription Drug Take Back Day,” a day which is celebrated in both April and October. The event was initially created and sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration. And why do we need two days per year where we all get together...