Use Statistics

Stimulants

Designer Drugs

Narcotics

News

General Population Drug Use Statistics

• Accidental Drug Overdose Deaths Nearly Doubled.          A 2007 report found drug overdose deaths are now the 2nd leading cause of death in America.
• 19.7 million Americans used drugs in the past month. The highest age percentage for illicit drug use is 18 to 21. The most abused illicit drug is marijuana with 14.6 million drug users. On a regular basis,.2.4 million Americans use cocaine.
• 13 million Americans have an alcohol drinking problem. Their alcohol use has resulted in a criminal arrest, termination from their job, or family disruption such as divorce. It is important to realize that alcohol is a drug. In 2005, 2.5 million Americans received treatment for alcohol addiction.
• Over 60 million prescriptions were written by American doctors for Valium and other similar acting tranquilizers. Many people do not consider the legal drugs, alcohol, and mood altering prescription drugs to be a safety risk. When used as directed, most of these drugs are safe. However, when tranquilizers such as Valium, Soma, or Xanax are mixed with even small amounts of alcohol, the synergistic effect quickly becomes dangerous.  In 2005, 1.8 million Americans abused tranquilizers.
• 33% of automobile drivers involved in crashes are under the influence of drugs or alcohol or both at the time of the crash. In 2005, 10.5 million Americans reported driving under the influence of drugs!  A 1989 study of Chicago personal injury crashes found that 54 percent of the drivers tested positive for either illicit drugs or alcohol.

A drug is any substance, which can impair a persons ability to safely function in society:

• Illegal controlled substances such as cocaine, heroin, and marijuana

• Prescription medicines such as valium, and codeine

• Alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, ale, and distilled liquors

• Chemical solvents such as spray paint, glue, and gasoline

• Natural plant intoxicants such as mescaline, psilocybin and peyote.

"8.1 percent of the population aged 12 years old or older used illicit drugs including marijuana, cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or prescription-type psychotherapeutics used non-medically."     September, 2006 report: "National Survey on Drug Use and Health" US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

More 18-25 year olds were first-time prescription drug abusers than first-time marijuana users according to a October, 2006 study "Misuse of Prescription Drugs" by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Workplace Drug Use Statistics

• 32% of workers stated a co-workers drug/alcohol use affected their job performance. When an employee is impaired on the job, the company has not only lost one productive employee, but in fact has dramatically reduced the productivity of all the other workers who they interact with. Drug use in the workplace has a ripple effect.Not only is productivity reduced, but company morale is negatively impacted, causing good employees to leave the company to avoid drug impaired co-workers.
• Workplace drug use is up. In 1997, 6.3 million people, or 7.7 percent of the 81.8 million full-time workers age 18 to 49, reported having used illicit drugs in the past month. This percent is up from 1994, when only 6 million people reported having used illicit drugs in the past month.
• 30% of semi-tractor trailer truck drivers involved in fatal accidents test positive for drugs. The most frequent drug abused by drivers are central nervous system stimulant drugs such as crystal meth-amphetamines, ("speed"), and cocaine. You might be surprised that the LEAST likely drug found is alcohol. Professional truck drivers know employers and the police are good at spotting the symptoms of alcohol impairment. They also realize most employers and even some police officers have difficulty spotting illicit drug use.
• Impact of employee drug use: Workers who reported current illicit drug use were more likely to have worked for three or more employers in the past year and to have higher rates of unexcused absence and voluntary turnover in the past year than those who did not report drug use.
• Company Drug Policy Matters: Workers in 1997 whose employer did not have a written drug policy were about twice as likely to report they used illicit drugs in the past month as employers with written policies about drug use.

• Prescription drug abuse is up 6.3% among 18-25 year olds in 2006. The most frequently abused prescription drug is the narcotic Vicodin and its cousin Lortab.  This abuse often progresses to OxyContin and heroin abuse.
• The fastest growing drug of abuse in American high schools is heroin. Many wealthy communities across the country are reporting high school overdose deaths from heroin, a shocking new trend in teenage drug use.
• 40% of high school seniors reported they had smoked marijuana during the past 12 months. Marijuana is considered one of the "gateway drugs" introducing young people to the pleasant sensation of drug intoxication. Experts agree that stopping the gateway drugs is a better strategy than attempting rehab for teens addicted to crack cocaine or heroin.
• Nation-wide, 25% of high school seniors have used stimulant drugs like "speed." In some areas of the country, primarily the southwest and rural Midwest, amphetamine use has sky rocketed to epidemic proportions—more than double the national average.
• Use of new "Designer Drugs" is dramatically higher. Called "Super - G" or "Liquid - G" or "Liquid Ecstasy" on the street, G.H.B., (Gama Hydroxi-Butyric Acid), has become a popular teen dance club party drug because it produces a alcohol like drug effect with no odor of alcohol. The old 1970 drug, MDA/MDMA is making a strong comeback among teens at dance clubs. Called "Ecstasy" or "Adam," it produces a euphoric cocaine-like high without the "speedy" side effects of cocaine. Teens love the drug because it allows they to dance for hours without feeling fatigued.
• Rural Teens are 83% more likely to use crack cocaine, 34% more likely to smoke marijuana, and twice as likely to use amphetamines than teens in large cities.  Rural areas often have fewer prevention, enforcement, and rehabilitation resources than urban areas.

• 82% of persons arrested by Chicago area police tested positive for illicit drugs. The US Department of Justice Drug Use Forecasting Study provides accurate trends on drug abuse in selected cities around the country.
• Most people arrested for criminal acts test positive for cocaine.  Although marijuana is the most popular illicit drug in America, 52% of persons arrested in the Chicago metro area tested positive for cocaine, not marijuana. Most of these individuals have falling into drug addiction and commit crimes to feed their addiction or to provide money after their drug addiction has cost them their job.
• 35% of arrestees in the Chicago area are "poly-drug" abusers.  Most drug users do not use one illicit drug exclusively. Mixing several different types of illicit drugs is a common way drug users modify unwanted drug side-effects or to extend and enhance the intoxicating effects of drugs.

Most drug users are poly-drug users, meaning they abuse more than one type of drug at the same time.

• A 1989 New York Police study found 67% of persons arrested for driving under the influence of drugs had two or more drugs in their system OTHER than alcohol

• A 1985 Los Angles Police study found 72% of subjects arrested for driving under the influence of dugs had more than one drug in their system INCLUDING alcohol.

• A 1989 Chicago personal injury crashes found that 54% of the drivers tested positive for either illicit drugs or alcohol.