17 Percent of Americans Have Substance Use Disorder

Every year, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provides the most recently available information on tobacco, alcohol, and other substance use, mental health, and other health-related issues in the United States.

The NSDUH began in 1971 and is conducted annually in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Approximately 70,000 people were interviewed for this important study.

Information from the NSDUH is used to support prevention and treatment programs, monitor substance use trends, estimate the need for treatment, and inform public health policy.

17 PERCENT HAVE SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER

In 2024, nearly 50 million Americans, 16.8 percent of people 12 years or older, met the diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder (SUD) in the past year. Of these individuals, 27.9 million had an alcohol use disorder, and 28.2 million had an SUD involving drugs.

About one in six people with a past year substance use disorder (16.0 percent or 7.7 million people) had both an alcohol use disorder and a “drug use disorder” in the past year. Cannabis (marijuana) use disorder (CUD) was the most common drug use disorder (20.6 million), followed by opioid use disorder (4.8 million), and a central nervous system stimulant use disorder (4.3 million).

“With the ready availability of illicitly made fentanyl and other potent synthetic opioids such as nitazenes, the emergence of substances like xylazine, medetomidine, and illicit benzodiazepines, and increasing polysubstance use, Americans face an illicit drug supply that is more toxic, unpredictable, and dangerous than ever,” wrote Art Kleinschmidt, Ph., MBA, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in a press release. “In addition, the proliferation of social media and other technology that is inundating America’s young people, coupled with other social stressors in homes and communities across the Nation, has contributed to declining mental health and well-being and rising rates of suicide in the past two decades.”

MAJOR TRENDS

The 2024 NSDUH identifies “areas of progress” and “trends heading in the wrong direction.”  

“Americans are binge drinking and smoking tobacco less but consuming marijuana significantly more,” summarized Lev Facher in the findings of the new federal survey on STAT News.

“On the progress front, we see from the NSDUH that the percentage of people 12 years or older reporting use of most substances either decreased or remained stable between 2021 and 2024, with decreases in past month use of tobacco, cigarettes, binge and heavy drinking as well as decreases in past year use of cocaine, misuse of prescription opioids, and past year alcohol use disorder,” reported Dr. Kleinschmidt.

Heading in the wrong direction, however, are trends that include past year illicit drug use, marijuana use, and hallucinogen use, and past year drug use disorder and cannabis use disorder. “Among adults, we also saw that the percentage of people 18 or older [who] reported making a suicide plan increased between 2021 and 2024.”

Dr. Kleinschmidt points out that “the increases in past-year illicit drug use and past-year drug use disorders are largely driven by increases in marijuana use and [cannabis] use disorder among adults 26 years or older. Although marijuana use and [CUD] trends remained stable among adolescents and young adults between 2021 and 2024, the increase in adult use is important to inform prevention and treatment activities given changing attitudes around marijuana use and the shifting state policy landscape which has increased risk for marijuana use and use disorder among young people, and enabled the ready availability of high-potency marijuana products linked to negative health impacts in communities across the country.”

MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE MISUSE

The NSDUH highlights the “substantial overlap” between substance use and mental health. “Although mental health and substance use funding and treatment systems have historically often been separate, the NSDUH clearly demonstrates that in reality, people with substance use disorders and those with mental health challenges often have co-occurring conditions.”

For the first time in 2024, the NSDUH included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, a validated self-report measure to screen for and assess symptoms of GAD in the past two weeks.

Among adults 18 years or older in the US, 7.4 percent had moderate or severe symptoms of anxiety and 14.3 percent had mild symptoms. Moderate to severe symptoms were more common among 18 to 25-year-olds (14.5 percent) compared to 26 to 49-year-olds (9.0 percent) and adults 50 years or older (3.9 percent).

TREATMENT NEEDS NOT MET

According to the NSDUH, “approximately one in five people (19.3 percent) who needed substance use treatment actually received treatment in the past year. Treatment receipt was highest among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years (30.2 percent of those needing treatment reported receiving treatment in the past year), followed by those 26 years or older (20.5 percent) and those 18 to 25 years old (11.3 percent).”

Modern, evidence-based addiction treatment needs to be trauma-informed and dual diagnosis capable, addressing the needs of the patient as a whole person, including their life experiences, and going far beyond simply suppressing powerful cravings to use drugs and alcohol.

Every patient with addiction deserves the best medical care. When it comes to behavioral healthcare, the ability of your treatment provider to understand your needs, provide effective therapies, and identify the specific resources that will help you maintain health and recovery after treatment is vital to your success.

FOUNDRY FRONT RANGE TREATS CANNABIS USE DISORDER

NRT Behavioral Health Managing Partner Ben Cort has written two books on the problems associated with today’s high-potency cannabis products and their effects. Growing evidence demonstrates that consuming highly concentrated cannabis poses significant health risks, from anxiety and depression to cardiac problems and suicidal ideation.

A minority of cannabis users will develop cannabis use disorder and its serious effects. However, those who are impacted, and their family members and loved ones, face significant challenges and the same risks associated with other forms of substance use disorder.

NRT Behavioral Health programs, including Foundry Steamboat, Foundry Front Range, and its intensive outpatient program, have specialized expertise in treating cannabis use disorder. With some of the most experienced clinicians, modern and well-equipped clinical facilities, and leading experts in addiction medicine, Foundry Steamboat and Foundry Front Range represent an appropriate treatment option for people experiencing cannabis use disorder.

If you or a loved one needs help or to learn more about our comprehensive addiction treatment program, visit www.foundryfrontrange.com  or call (720) 807-7867.

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