STATISTICS & TRENDS

STATISTICS & TRENDS

New Study Shows Doctors Prescribing Lower Dosage Opioids

A study out of Canada shows that many doctors are now prescribing less potent doses of opioid pain relievers for post-surgery pain. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, advocates say doctors should also recommend nonopioid pain relief...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Recent Overdoses in New York Show How Drug Abuse can Harm People of All Backgrounds

When three New Yorkers of remarkably different backgrounds overdosed and died on the same day, many believed their deaths were coincidental. But investigators later began to see a pattern when they discovered that all three users had ordered drugs from...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Research Shows Cannabis Legalization Leads to a Spike in Use

The subject of marijuana legalization has been hotly debated for decades. New research has found that when states legalize marijuana, consumption rates go up. Since marijuana has harmful short-term and long-term effects, constituents, policymakers, and...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

One-Third of Young People Admit to Misusing Prescribed Psychoactive Drugs

Psychoactive medications (mind-altering pills like prescription stimulants or sedatives) pose risks for unwanted side effects, addiction included. But that’s not a new story. What is new is that a recent study just found that when these drugs are prescribed...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Drug Overdoses Contributed to the Latest Drop in American Life Expectancy

While many factors influence American life expectancy, some causes of death (and the ever-changing upticks and downward-trends surrounding such deaths) are considered more of an influence than others. For example, fatal accidental injuries spiked in the...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Pharmacies Ordered to Pay $650 Million for Role in Opioid Epidemic

A legal battle that has been ongoing for years concluded recently. Two Ohio counties that were inundated with far more opioid pills than residents needed will now receive $650 million from pharmacy corporations actively involved in doling out addictive...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

After Years of Advocacy, U.S. Opioid Prescribing Is Declining

After years of cautionary advice from the CDC, addiction horror stories from patients, and undeniable statistics showing the connection between opioid prescribing and addiction, it seems opioid prescribing trends are finally declining in a measurable,...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Dentists Can Curb Opioid Addiction and Still Help Patients with Post-Operation Pain

New research into a significant change in New York dental practice has found that dentists can stop prescribing opioids and shift to only recommending over-the-counter pain relievers for patients, all with little to no negative effects. The findings may...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Marijuana and Hallucinogen Use Reach All-Time High Among Young Adults

Monitoring substance abuse trends among young people provides a clear view of developing drug problems nationwide. Recent studies in this area suggest that certain types of drug use are now the highest they’ve ever been for young people, painting a dire...

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.