From the CDC.
This report brings together the latest data available on the drug overdose epidemic in America, including opioid prescribing patterns, and various health behaviors and outcomes such as drug use and nonfatal overdoses and deaths.
Prescription drug misuse, illicit drug use, substance use disorder, and overdose remain critical issues in the United States, forming one of the biggest public health crises of our lifetime. We know that prescription pain medications, heroin, and illicitly manufactured fentanyl have all contributed to the rise in overdose deaths, fueling the crisis. We now we know that there is a rise in use and overdoses involving other drugs like cocaine and methamphetamines as well.
Key data from the report:
- In 2017, providers wrote more than 58 opioid prescriptions for every 100 Americans.
- In 2016, 48.5 million Americans reported (almost 18 percent of the population) using illicit drugs (like marijuana, cocaine (or crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or methamphetamine) or misusing prescription drugs (prescription pain relievers, stimulants, tranquilizers, and sedatives) in the past year.
- In 2015, almost 320,000 people were hospitalized for nonfatal drug poisonings in America.