Useful Resources
Substance Abuse: High Costs
October 02, 2008
An estimated 22.2 million persons aged 12 or older were classified with substance dependence or abuse problems in the United States, representing 8.9 percent of that age group, according to the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual survey by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. Of these, 3.1 million had problems with both alcohol and illicit drugs, 3.9 million had problems with drugs, and 15.2 million were dependent on alcohol. For people who seek treatment, alcohol is by far the most common reason, followed by marijuana, cocaine, pain relievers, heroin, stimulants and hallucinogens. One promising trend is that U.S. government surveys found decreases between 2002 and 2008 in the percentages of youths who used marijuana, Ecstasy, LSD, alcohol, cocaine and cigarettes in their lifetimes, the past year, and the past month. However, illicit inhalant use held steady. The overall cost of substance abuse in the United States-including health- and crime-related costs and losses in productivity-exceeds half a trillion dollars annually, according to the National Institutes of Health. Updated March 2010
Resource Links
Research
This center tracks medical errors in North Carolina nursing homes.
Blogs
A blog by and about women with substance abuse problems, sponsored by a recovery program.
The community forum area of this Web site is popular with bloggers who are fighting alcoholism.
Guidance for Consumers
Nonprofit that helps parents recognize and prevent drug and alcohol abuse by their children.
Drug abuse links from the National Institutes of Health.
A 12-step recovery program for substance abusers.
The first and largest 12-step recovery program, primarily for alcoholics.
Easy to use directory of treatment facilities in the United States, mappable by ZIP Code, city, county or state.
Advocacy
Web site of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
Nonprofit that works to increase access to health care resources for people with substance abuse problems.
Public Policy
The state of California's central substance abuse resources site.
Facts about substance abuse and treatment programs from an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, including nationwide data on treatment admissions.
The White House perspective on illegal drug use.
Statistics, Trends and Research
Basics of substance abuse.
Facts and links to research from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Statistics published by Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
Exhaustive directory of survey data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Federal anti-drug agency's National Outcome Measures (NOMs) site.
Understanding Substance Abuse
Formal definitions of substance abuse and dependence.
Original resources and external links from a U.S. government institute.
