Scientific Foundation
- More than 21 million Americans struggled with substance use disorder.
More than 81,000 people died from drug overdoses in the 12 months ending in May 2020, the highest number of fatalities ever recorded during any one-year span in American history
From health care, criminal justice costs, and lost workplace productivity, the United States spends more than $740 billion on addiction-related issues every year.
- Opioid overdoses kill more Americans than car crashes, gun violence, and breast cancer.
Reference:
- CDC Health Alert Network. “Increase in Fatal Drug Overdoses Across the United States Driven by Synthetic Opioids Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. December 17, 2020. Available at https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2020/han00438.asp
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.” Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. September 2020. Available at https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt29393/2019NSDUHFFRPDFWHTML/2019NSDUHFFR1PDFW090120.pdf
