9781422275443

AWARENESS OF THE CAUSE

ADDICTION STATISTICS According to a recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 21.5 million American adults (aged 12 and older) battled a substance use disorder in one year. ADDICTION AND SOCIETY The use of drugs and drinking can come with serious risk and devastating consequences.

• Drug abuse and addiction cost American society close to $200 billion in health care, criminal justice, legal, and lost workplace production/ participation costs each year, the Office on National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) reports. • The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the global burden of disease related to drug and alcohol issues to be 5.4 percent worldwide.

SUBSTANCE USE IN THE U.S.

• Genetics and environmental factors are thought to play equal roles in the onset of addiction, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) states. • Abusing drugs or alcohol before the brain is fully developed, any time before a person’s mid-20s, may increase the risk for addiction later in life due to their potential influence on the still-developing brain. Source: Clinical EEG and Neuroscience.

T RANQUILIZERS 4.1%

STIMULANTS 3.6%

HALLUCINOGENS2.0%

INHALANTS 6.3%

SEDATIVES 1.3%

COCAINE&HEROIN0.2% •

PAIN RELIEVERS 17.0%

MARIJUANA 65.6%

Source: www.drugabuse.gov.

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