The opioid epidemic has been called the worst drug crisis in American history – with numbers likely rising as you read this. Prescription opioids and heroin kill more people than motor vehicle accidents and guns.
And, despite these dangers, few get treatment. Drug treatments that wean individuals from opiates, such as buprenorphine, naloxone and suboxone, are least common in states across the American South and Midwest, where addiction rates are highest.
What’s more, opioid addiction spares no one – impacting Americans in every state, county, socio-economic and ethnic group.
More on the Opioid EpidemicRead on for several more scary statistics about opioid abuse in the U.S.
In 2015, about 300 million opioid pain medication prescriptions were written, enough for every adult in America to have a bottle of pills.
23% of heroin users develop chronic opioid addiction disease.
According to the National Institutes of Health, three in four new heroin users start by abusing prescription drugs.
From 2010 to 2016, the number of people diagnosed with an addiction to opioids – including both legal prescription drugs like oxycodone and hydrocodone, as well as illicit drugs – climbed 493%.
Only one in 10 people receive any specialized treatment to manage their addiction, according to a 2016 Surgeon General's Report.
Of the 20 million Americans that had a substance abuse addiction in 2015, about 10% of them were addicted to opioids.
91 people die every day from an opioid overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In 2015, more than 33,000 lives were lost to opioids.
Deaths from synthetic opioids alone, such as illicit fentanyl, jumped 72% from 2014 to 2015.
An opioid prescription lasting for eight or more days increased the likelihood of using the drug a year later to 13.5%; 31 days or more increased chances of long-term opioid use to 29.9%, according to a CDC study.
Overdose deaths for women due to prescription painkillers have jumped more than 400 percent, while for men it has increased by 265 percent.
The rate of teen drug overdose deaths in the U.S. climbed 19% from 2014 to 2015, from 3.1 deaths per 100,000 teens to 3.7 per 100,000, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Heroin was the leading contributor.
Treating Opiate AddictionIf you or a loved one suffers from an opioid or heroin addiction, NorthStar Transitions can help. Our treatment program combines top clinical care with an inspirational environment to help people of all ages step into a life of recovery that’s more rewarding than they could have imagined during the depths of their drug abuse. To learn more, call today: 303-625-6335.
