DID YOU KNOW: 19.4% on the nation's population have used illicit drugs at least once. Today for RED RIBBON WEEK 2021, we wanted to share more statistics about substance misuse, specifically about opioids. Thanks to the NCDAS (National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics), they have come up with some astonishing stats that will blow your mind!
Here are some statistics about Opioid Misuse within the past year:
- 10.1 million or 3.7% of Americans misuse opioids at least once over a 12-month period.
- 1.6 million or 15.8% qualify as having an opioid use disorder.
- 9.7 million or 96.6% of opioid misusers use prescription pain relievers.
- 745,000 or 7.4% of opioid misusers abuse heroin; 404,000 or 4.0% use heroin and prescriptions.
- Hydrocodone is the most popular prescription opioid, with 5.1 million misusers.
- Taking opioids for a period longer than 3 months increases the risk of addiction 15 times- most persons in acute pain rarely need more than 7 days’ worth
- The national opioid prescription rate peaked in 2012 with over 255 million prescriptions, an average of 81.3 prescriptions per 100 persons. Additionally:
- In 2015, opioids were still being prescribed at a rate that would medicate every American around the clock (5mg of hydrocodone every 4 hours) for 3 weeks.
- By 2018, the number had declined to 51.4 prescriptions per 100 persons.
- In 11% of US counties, there are still enough opioid prescriptions dispensed for every resident to have one.
- In 2018, 51.3% of Americans obtained their illegal pain medication from a friend or relative.
- Between 2016 and 2017, global opium production jumped 65% to 10,500 tons.
- In Afghanistan, alone production reached 9,000 tons/year, an increase of 87%.
- More than 75% of opium poppy cultivation occurs in Afghanistan.
- The most common type of substance exposure reported to poison control centers is illegal or misused prescription opioids, with nearly 284,000 cases of exposure, including:
- 44% of cases were for children under the age of 5, including 5,300 exposures to heroin and fentanyl.
- The exposure of children under 5 to marijuana increased by 148% over a 7-year period.
- Exposure to prescription opioids increased 93% each year over a 9-year period.
These are just some of the many statistics that NCDAS has available. Head to the link below to see more statistics and info about substance misuse and addiction.
NCDAS: Substance Abuse and Addiction Statistics [2021] (drugabusestatistics.org)