STATISTICS & TRENDS

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Florida Grabs Two Slots in a “Top 15” List – and Why that’s Really Bad News

It seems like it’d always be desirable for a city to show up in a list of the Top Ten or Twenty for some particular quality. Florida is no newcomer to these honors. But this time, Florida is not exactly honored by taking two places on a new “Top 15”...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Can You Listen to this 911 Call About an Overdose without Weeping?

In Cincinnati, the 911 emergency system recorded a terrifying event – a young girl calling for help as her parents overdosed in the front seat of their car. The operator tried to calm her terror as emergency help was sent her way.…

STATISTICS & TRENDS

China Bans Four Kinds of Fentanyl —Why Won’t This Help the U.S.?

After months of dedicated work by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Chinese government has banned the production of four highly dangerous synthetic opioids. Learn why this may not make things much better in the U.S.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Big Pharma Seeks Expansion Following the Model of Illicit Drug Dealers

In Part I of this series, we looked at the emergence of an opioid epidemic in the U.S. that was fueled by the overprescribing of painkillers by doctors in every corner of the country. Now it looks like this problem may soon take on global proportions.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Is America’s Opioid Epidemic Going International?

Over the last several years, hundreds of thousands of American families have suffered the heartbreak of losing someone they love to a drug overdose. Now, it appears that this scourge may begin to wreak a similar havoc in other countries as pharmaceutical...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Suboxone: Salvation for the Addicted or Seriously Flawed Solution?

Behind the headlines about the opioid addiction epidemic, a debate has long been raging about the advisability of prescribing Suboxone for those in recovery. The desperation of this problem demands a solution. But not everyone agrees that the best solution...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Opioids Get the Headlines But Cocaine Still Kills Thousands Each Year

Anyone involved in recovery from drug addiction knows that drugs in the opioid category are taking more lives than any other. What is not making headlines at this point is that cocaine is still taking thousands of lives each year.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Super Bowl 2017 Offers Drug Prevention Group a Chance to Save Young Lives

Every year, Superbowl advertising minutes offer an opportunity to reach more than one hundred million people in a flash. This year, viewers were served two public service announcements revealing the dangers of leaving prescription drugs unlocked, where...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Unique Maps Help Us Grasp the Extent of Losses from Addiction

We all see news headlines or articles on the internet about a local person lost to an overdose or a celebrity going to rehab. But it can be hard to get a grip on what’s really happening across this country. A young man who lost his bother to drugs set...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

2016: The Year in Review

When your work is helping the addicted recover their sobriety, today’s newspapers and magazines don’t bring you a lot of good news. There are warnings of drugs currently taking lives, drug use trends to tell us where we need improvement. Here’s what...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

What Stars Did We Lose in 2016 to Drugs or Alcohol?

It seemed like 2016 was stealing away some of our favorite cultural icons – many, far too young. Was their current or past drug and alcohol abuse responsible for shortening their lives?

STATISTICS & TRENDS

$44 Million Penalty Suggests Pharma Distributors Complicit in Overprescribing

In New York City, Queens pharmaceutical distributor and its parent company. Kinray, LLC will be paying a $10 million penalty and parent company Cardinal will be yielding an additional $34 million to the DEA. Their offenses? Failing to report drugstores...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Declines in Youth Drug Use Offer a Bright Spot of Hope

Every year, the Monitoring the Future survey allows us to examine trends in drug and alcohol use among our teens. In this new report, the fact that teen use of most drugs continued their decline provides a bright spot amid concerns about our national opioid...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

As Opioid Use Increases, More Newborns Suffer

A new study reveals the rapidly increasing number of newborns struggling with sickness and discomfort when they are no longer exposed to the opioids their mothers were consuming.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

New Jersey Prosecutor’s Office Takes to Social Media to Prevent Overdose Deaths

When it comes to heroin and painkiller addiction and overdoses, the Northeast United States has been very hard hit. In Hackensack, New Jersey, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office (BCPO) decided to fight back using social media tools.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Child Neglect Due to Substance Abuse is On The Rise

An individual who has turned to drug use has done so because they have encountered something in their life that they feel either unable or unwilling to address and resolve. Drugs provide them with a way to escape their life, temporarily, so that they can...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

American Seniors Struggling with Growing Rates of Drug and Alcohol Addiction

While most media attention is understandably on the teens and young adults who are struggling with addiction or even losing their lives, seniors constitute another group of Americans who suffer similar problems.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

According to the Oklahoma Department of Education, Drug Abuse is a Factor in the Rising Number of Homeless Children

According to data collected by school districts and reported to the state, thousands of Oklahoma children fall asleep each night on the couches or beds of friends or relatives, hundreds more stay in a hotel or motel, and some even sleep in a shelter or...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

What is Behind the Changing Trends in Drug Abuse?

A look back through history shows that patterns of drug abuse in the U.S. never stay the same for long. In the 1950s, tranquilizers like Miltowns and plenty of alcohol were being abused. In the 1960s, it was marijuana, speed, and hallucinogens like LSD.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Oklahoma Urging Pharmacies to Join Efforts in Curbing Prescription Drug Abuse

One of the most troubling drug abuse and addiction problems that currently affect our nation is the problem of prescription drug abuse.