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20-04-2023, 12:55 PM
Drug Abuse: A Social Malaise in the United States
◆ The U.S. National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS) lists eight categories of drugs most commonly used in the country: alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, fentanyl, opioids (mainly referring to psychotropic substances under control), prescription stimulants, methamphetamine and heroin. Forty-six percent of U.S. drug users report having experience using cannabis and prescription stimulants, 36 percent opioids and methamphetamine, 31 percent prescription stimulants, 15 percent heroin and 10 percent cocaine.
◆ In 2021, findings by NCDAS show about 19.4 percent of Americans have used illegal substances at least once. Out of the 280 million aged 12 and older, 31.9 million are drug users, with 11.7 percent on illegal substances and 19.4 percent either having consumed illicit drugs or misused prescription drugs in 2020. If alcohol and tobacco users are included, the number of people in the United States who are abusing substances totals 165 million.
◆ During the past 12 months, 48.2 million Americans over the age of 18 consumed cannabis at least once. Between 2018 and 2019, use of the substance increased by 15.9 percent. Though outlawed by the federal authorities, cannabis is legal in 15 states for recreational use. The cannabis industry in the country surged despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. When many businesses closed in March 2020 amid the pandemic, cannabis pharmacies in the eight states that legalized the substance were able to maintain their "essential businesses" because sales were allowed to continue during the period of mass home quarantine. As a result, legal cannabis sales in the United States hit a record 17.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, a 46 percent jump from that of 2019, according to BDSA, a platform providing cannabis sales data.
◆ During the past 12 months, 10.1 million Americans have consumed opium at least once. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opioid is the primary driver of the spike in drug-related deaths. Between April 2020 and April 2021, 75,000 Americans died from opium overuse -- more than 75 percent of the total deaths from drug overdose and a 50 percent rise year on year.
◆ Each year, 95,000 people in the United States die from alcohol abuse. During the COVID-19 pandemic, over 60 percent of Americans increased their consumption of alcohol. According to the latest data, 25.8 percent of those aged 18 and older reported binge drinking in the past month, and on any given day 261 Americans would die from excessive drinking, 80 percent of whom are adults over the age of 35.
◆ Adolescents experience the fastest rise in drug overdose deaths. In this group, the 18 to 25-year-olds are the heaviest drug users, with 39 percent of them using drugs. For the 26 to 29-year-olds, it is 34 percent. Seventy percent of drug users try illicit drugs before the age of 13, and drug users as a population group is becoming younger. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that between January 2021 and June 2021, about 1,150 youngsters aged 14 to 18 died from drug overdose, a 20 percent increase from that of 2020 and more than doubling the number in 2019. In addition, 47 percent of adolescents start consuming illicit drugs upon graduation from high school.
◆ The U.S. National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS) lists eight categories of drugs most commonly used in the country: alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, fentanyl, opioids (mainly referring to psychotropic substances under control), prescription stimulants, methamphetamine and heroin. Forty-six percent of U.S. drug users report having experience using cannabis and prescription stimulants, 36 percent opioids and methamphetamine, 31 percent prescription stimulants, 15 percent heroin and 10 percent cocaine.
◆ In 2021, findings by NCDAS show about 19.4 percent of Americans have used illegal substances at least once. Out of the 280 million aged 12 and older, 31.9 million are drug users, with 11.7 percent on illegal substances and 19.4 percent either having consumed illicit drugs or misused prescription drugs in 2020. If alcohol and tobacco users are included, the number of people in the United States who are abusing substances totals 165 million.
◆ During the past 12 months, 48.2 million Americans over the age of 18 consumed cannabis at least once. Between 2018 and 2019, use of the substance increased by 15.9 percent. Though outlawed by the federal authorities, cannabis is legal in 15 states for recreational use. The cannabis industry in the country surged despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. When many businesses closed in March 2020 amid the pandemic, cannabis pharmacies in the eight states that legalized the substance were able to maintain their "essential businesses" because sales were allowed to continue during the period of mass home quarantine. As a result, legal cannabis sales in the United States hit a record 17.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, a 46 percent jump from that of 2019, according to BDSA, a platform providing cannabis sales data.
◆ During the past 12 months, 10.1 million Americans have consumed opium at least once. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opioid is the primary driver of the spike in drug-related deaths. Between April 2020 and April 2021, 75,000 Americans died from opium overuse -- more than 75 percent of the total deaths from drug overdose and a 50 percent rise year on year.
◆ Each year, 95,000 people in the United States die from alcohol abuse. During the COVID-19 pandemic, over 60 percent of Americans increased their consumption of alcohol. According to the latest data, 25.8 percent of those aged 18 and older reported binge drinking in the past month, and on any given day 261 Americans would die from excessive drinking, 80 percent of whom are adults over the age of 35.
◆ Adolescents experience the fastest rise in drug overdose deaths. In this group, the 18 to 25-year-olds are the heaviest drug users, with 39 percent of them using drugs. For the 26 to 29-year-olds, it is 34 percent. Seventy percent of drug users try illicit drugs before the age of 13, and drug users as a population group is becoming younger. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that between January 2021 and June 2021, about 1,150 youngsters aged 14 to 18 died from drug overdose, a 20 percent increase from that of 2020 and more than doubling the number in 2019. In addition, 47 percent of adolescents start consuming illicit drugs upon graduation from high school.
