Research on the science of addiction and the treatment of substance use disorders has led to the development of research-based methods that help people to stop using drugs and resume productive lives, also known as being in recovery. Reported use for almost all substances decreased dramatically between 2020 and 2021, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and related changes like school closures and social distancing. In 2022, most reported substance use among adolescents held steady at these lowered levels, and these latest data show that this trend has continued into 2023. The new harm reduction research network joins other ongoing harm reduction research funded by NIDA and the NIH HEAL Initiative, which address drug overdoses, drug use, transmission of HIV and hepatitis C, and intersectional stigma.
What are the challenges in addressing substance use disorders in this population?
The 2023 data continue to document stable or declining trends in the use of illicit drugs among young people over many years. However, importantly, other research has reported a dramatic rise in overdose deaths among teens between 2010 to 2021, which remained elevated well into 2022 according to a NIDA analysis of CDC and Census data. This increase is largely attributed to illicit fentanyl, a potent synthetic drug, contaminating the supply of counterfeit pills made to resemble prescription medications.
Addiction often goes hand-in-hand with other mental illnesses. Both must be addressed.
Taken together, these data suggest that while drug use is not becoming more common among young people, it is becoming more dangerous. This webpage is regularly updated to display the most recent final drug overdose death data published annually by NCHS. NCHS systems receive and analyze data from death certificates, including cause-of-death information reported by state and local medical examiners and coroners. Because drug overdose deaths often require lengthy investigations, data are updated as new information is received.
Heroin Research Report
Inadequate treatment while incarcerated also contributes to overdoses and deaths when inmates leave the prison system. The Monitoring the Future survey is given annually to students in eighth, 10th, and 12th grades who self-report their substance use behaviors over various time periods, such as past 30 days, past 12 months, and lifetime. The survey also documents students’ perceptions of harm, disapproval of use, and perceived availability of drugs. From February through June 2023, the Monitoring the Future investigators collected 22,318 surveys from students enrolled across 235 public and private schools in the United States. Funded by the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative, through NIDA, the awards are expected to total approximately $36 million over five years, pending the availability of funds.
- More than 107,000 people in the United States died from a drug overdose in 2021, according to provisional data from the U.S.
- These drugs also have a high potential for abuse; this may or may not be due to addictive properties.
- The front page of DrugAbuseStatistics.org features the most noteworthy drug abuse data, including overdose deaths, demographics, mental health, drug abuse treatment programs, and the cost of the War on Drugs.
- For the 2023 survey, 48% of students identified as male, 47% identified as female, 1% identified as other, and 4% selected the “prefer not to answer” option.
- The research network will also examine the efficacy of moving harm reduction services and tools into communities via mobile vans, peer support specialists, internet- and smartphone-based tools and other types of outreach.
Some examples of Schedule IV drugs are narcotics, muscle relaxants, and commonly prescribed medications for anxiety and depression, such as alprazolam. For more information, see our report on drug-related crime statistics. 10.3 million LGBT+ adults had a substance use disorder and/or mental illness in 2020.
The chronic nature of addiction means that for some people relapse, or a return to drug use after an attempt to stop, can be part of the process, but newer treatments are designed to help with relapse prevention. Relapse rates for drug use are similar to rates for other chronic medical illnesses. If people stop following their medical treatment plan, they are likely to relapse.
This allows any bodily fluids to drain out of the mouth and nose, reducing the risk of aspiration and asphyxiation. The emergency and referral resources listed above are available to individuals located in the United States and are not operated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). NIDA is a biomedical research organization and does not provide personalized medical advice, treatment, counseling, or legal consultation. Information provided by NIDA is not a substitute for professional medical care or legal consultation. The 2023 Monitoring the Future data tables highlighting the survey results are available online from the University of Michigan. Fourteen (14) drugs are classified as Schedule V. One example of a Schedule V drugs are cough medicines with 100 to 200 ml of codeine per dose.
How does cocaine work in the brain?
For the 2023 survey, 48% of students identified as male, 47% identified as female, 1% identified as other, and 4% selected the “prefer not to answer” option. Some examples of Schedule II drugs are cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, oxycodone, and hydrocodone. For more information, see our report on alcohol abuse and alcohol-related deaths.
Most Schedule IV drugs are prescription medications, some of which have been banned by the Food and Drug Administration. There are 260 drugs classified as Schedule I. Some examples of Schedule I drugs include ecstasy, heroin, synthetic heroin, LSD, marijuana, and peyote. Drug abuse and misuse of prescription drugs is generally more prevalent in males than in females. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized expansion of Medicare coverage to include opioid treatment programs delivering MAT (medication-assisted-treatment) effective Jan. 1, 2020. Drugs like cocaine powerfully activate reward and reinforcement mechanisms in the brain. Reward refers to the euphoria or high produced when taking the drug (equivalent to “liking”); reinforcement refers to the desire to take the drug again (“wanting”).
When people smoke cocaine (inhalation), they inhale its vapor or smoke into the lungs, where absorption into the bloodstream is almost as rapid as by injection. Learn about NIDA-supported research and cross-agency research activities on drug use and addiction. Though the sample size of 22,318 respondents in 2023 was lower than the sample size of a typical pre-pandemic year’s data collection, the results were gathered from a nationally representative sample, and the data were statistically weighted to provide national numbers. This year, 13% of students who took the survey identified as Black or African American, 1% as American Indian or Alaska Native, 3% as Asian, 25% as Hispanic, 1% as Middle Eastern, 41% as white, and 16% as more than one of the preceding categories. The survey also asks respondents to identify as male, female, other, or prefer not to answer.
- Detoxification alone without subsequent treatment generally leads to resumption of drug use.
- In 2024, the National Drug Control Budget requested $44.5 billion across agencies focused on expanding efforts to reverse opioid overdoses, disrupt the drug supply chain, and provide support for prevention, treatment, and recovery.
- By engaging in a continuing therapeutic process, people can learn how to avoid relapse and withdraw from a life of crime.
- Drugs “with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependance” are classified as Schedule III.
Risk and protective factors may be either environmental or biological. Because addiction can affect so many aspects of a person’s life, treatment should address the needs of the whole person to be successful. Counselors may select from a menu of services that meet the specific medical, mental, social, occupational, family, and legal needs of their patients to help in their recovery.
The Monitoring the Future investigators note that schools opt-in to participate in the survey, and some schools that had historically participated opted-out in the years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. All participating students took the survey via the web – either on tablets or on a computer – with 98% of respondents taking the survey in-person in school in 2023. Therefore, students with less engagement in school – a known risk factor for drug use – may have been less likely to participate in the survey.
NIDA and the NIH HEAL Initiative also fund substantial research on drug use and addiction prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery support. Harm reduction is an evidence-based, often life-saving approach that directly engages people who use drugs to prevent overdose, disease transmission and other harms. Researchers will test strategies to connect enrolled participants who use drugs with services and treatments and measure the effectiveness of these interventions in reducing overdose deaths and other outcomes. Non-sanctioned, non-medical, or non-prescribed use of these controlled substances is considered drug abuse, often leading to Substance Use Disorder (SUD).
Some people may start to feel the need to take more of a drug or take it more often, even in the early stages of their drug use. Behavioral therapies help people in drug addiction treatment modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug use. As a result, patients are able to handle stressful situations and various triggers that might cause another relapse. Behavioral therapies can also enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people remain in treatment longer. Like treatment for other chronic diseases such as heart disease or asthma, addiction treatment is not a cure, but a way of managing the condition.
Drug-Related Deaths
The cost of drug abuse in the US is nearly $820 billion per year, taking into account crime, healthcare needs, lost work productivity, and other impacts on society. Statistics indicate that some demographics and communities face elevated risks of drug abuse and drug disorders. Accidental drug overdose is a leading cause of death among persons under the age of 45. Brain imaging studies of people with addiction show physical changes in areas of the brain that are critical to judgment, decision-making, learning and memory, and behavior control.12 These drug overdose death rates national institute on drug abuse nida changes help explain the compulsive nature of addiction. Consider how a social drinker can become intoxicated, get behind the wheel of a car, and quickly turn a pleasurable activity into a tragedy that affects many lives. Occasional drug use, such as misusing an opioid to get high, can have similarly disastrous effects, including impaired driving and overdose.
