Drug abuse factsheet for teens and young adults



1: Abuse of and addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and illicit and prescription drugs cost Americans more than $700 billion a year in increased health care costs, crime, and lost productivity. 
https://www.drugabuse.gov/sites/default/files/soa_2014.pdf Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction. Page 3, NIH Pub No. 14-5605

2: Between 1999 and 2017, over 700,000 Americans have died due to a drug overdose. Nearly three out of every four deaths (68%), involve an opioid (such as oxycodone or heroin).
National Institute on Drug Abuse, ‘Is drug addiction treatment worth its cost?’, 2018 https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/how-much-do-drugs-cost/ Accessed on Feb 06, 2020

3: It is better to invest in drug prevention programs in the community because it costs less to prevent than to rehabilitate. According to several conservative estimates, every dollar invested in addiction treatment programs yields a return of between $4 and $7 in reduced drug-related crime, criminal justice costs, and theft. NIDA. (2018, January 17). Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide (Third Edition). Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition on 2020, February 6

4. Treatment is much less expensive than its alternatives, such as incarcerating addicted persons. For example, the average cost for 1 full year of methadone maintenance treatment is approximately $4,700 per patient, whereas 1 full year of imprisonment costs approximately $24,000 per person.
Principles of drug addiction treatment. A research-based guide.
NIH Publication No. 12–4180. Printed October 1999; Revised April; December 2012

Some of our reading resources for the lesson included the following:

1. Understanding the mental health effects of recreational drugs and alcohol by Dr. Katherine Darton, Published by Mind 2016 https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/2951/recreational-drugs-and-alcohol-2016.pdf
Accesses Feb 4, 2020

2. Facts on CNS Depressants, NIDA. August 2011
https://www.poehealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/PEERx_Toolkit_Depressants.pdf

3. The Science of Addiction. Page 3, NIH Pub No. 14-5605 
 https://www.drugabuse.gov/sites/default/files/soa_2014.pdf Drugs, Brains, and Behavior:

4. NIDA. (2017, March 23). Health Consequences of Drug Misuse. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/health-consequences-drug-misuse on 2020, February 6

5. The Drug Problem in the Americas: Studies Organization of American States. ISBN 978-0-8270-6009-8 http://www.cicad.oas.org/drogas/elinforme/informeDrogas2013/drugsDevelopment_ENG.pdf