STATISTICS & TRENDS

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Maker of OxyContin Loses Criminal Lawsuit—Transform to Non-Profit and Pay $8 Billion

In a breaking news story that spread like wildfire across the U.S., the American people were informed that Purdue Pharmaceuticals, maker of OxyContin, had agreed to plead guilty to federal, criminal charges. Why?

STATISTICS & TRENDS

What Is the Scope of Drug Abuse in Canada?

Is drug and alcohol abuse an issue of concern in Canada? How many Canadians struggle with addiction? What’s the solution to substance abuse in the Great White North?

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Meth Addiction—A Rising Crisis in America

After several years of meth addiction becoming an increasingly severe problem, the media is only just now beginning to focus on it.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Study Refutes Common Argument for Marijuana Legalization

While some of the argument behind marijuana legalization revolves around a claim that legal access to marijuana would reduce the need for addictive opioid painkillers, according to a recent study opioid use statistics do not fall when marijuana is used...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Alcohol Deaths on the Rise – The Silent Killer in Rural America

The CDC recently released a report that shows a 43% increase in alcohol-related deaths. What is particularly shocking is that the most significant increases in deaths have been in rural areas. What is causing this? And what are the potential solutions...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Marijuana Legalization Efforts Mask Intentional Manipulation of Potency

Many adults today might look at marijuana legalization as inevitable, but the marijuana of today bears little resemblance to marijuana at the turn of the new millennium.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Drug Free in Denmark - Real Hope, Not a Fairy Tale

There are darker sides to this storybook nation. And as in many other countries across the globe, drugs and alcohol are the two sides of this slippery slope downwards. Especially for the young Danes who want to party with their friends, binge drink, and...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Ending The War On Addiction

Decades of stigma has led to the mistreatment of those who struggle with drugs and alcohol. America's drug crisis will not improve until the nation focuses on treating addicts, not criminalizing them.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Social Media Exposes Kids to Drug Content—Parents Need to Educate Their Kids About Drugs

The rise of social media has brought with it an entirely new world in which the teenagers of today were born into a life of apps, internet, smartphones, and online social experiences that can sometimes be harmful.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

As Legalization Spreads, Teen Marijuana Use Returns

As cannabis legalization efforts have increased across the U.S. more youth begin to see marijuana as non-threatening and usage rates have begun to climb, creating serious problems for this nation's young people.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

2020 Drug Use Report—What We Can Learn from Studying a Global Problem

Drug addiction is growing in the United States, and it's growing across the world, too. Every year, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime releases a world report, a document that highlights drug-related issues across the planet.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

How Often Do Medical Experts Become Addicted to the Very Substances They Sometimes Must Prescribe?

Addiction can crop up among any set of people. No one is safe from the risk of addiction. Even highly trained medical experts still fall prey to the very substances that they sometimes must prescribe.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

OxyContin Maker Closed, Fined $8 Billion

The maker of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, has agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges for its role in creating and advancing the nation's opioid epidemic. Unfortunately, this does not even come close to holding Purdue accountable for the...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Positive Drug Tests Reach Record High

According to new data, not only was the overall number of positive drug tests at a 16-year high in 2019, but the rate of positive tests (percentage of drug tests administrated that came out positive) was also at an all-time high. What does this data tell...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

A Strong Warning from the Surgeon General’s Office on Drug Addiction

The office of the Surgeon General is responsible for assessing and addressing the serious health problems that the American people face every year. With that in mind, it is no surprise that the Surgeon General has released several reports on the state...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Why Does Alcohol Cause More Deaths in Some States than in Others?

While alcohol is a problem everywhere, it does not affect all states equally. As the drug epidemic has swept across America, so too has alcohol addiction become more severe.—and it seems to touch down with particular severity in certain regions.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

What Is the Average Age of Someone Who Dies from a Drug Overdose?

While there is no question that the United States is struggling with an addiction crisis of epic proportions, some of the more telling details of the crisis are not broadly discussed. For example, what could we learn by examining what age range of Americans...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Many Cardiac Deaths May Actually Be Drug Overdoses

It’s known that drug and alcohol abuse has a harmful effect on one’s cardiovascular system. However, new data suggests that the real threat of drugs on one's heart may have been entirely underestimated.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

After a Long Decline, Drug Overdose Deaths Experience Upturn

In September 2019, I wrote a perhaps overly optimistic piece about the fact that America was finally seeing a downturn in overdose deaths. In the more than ten years I’d been writing about this topic, I had only seen the steadiest of climbs in these...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

What is the Scope of Addiction in the World?

The drug epidemic that has swept across America is not just a problem in the States. When the camera lens is zoomed out to examine the planet as a whole, it becomes clear that the entire world struggles with a growing drug addiction emergency.