SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Substance abuse refers to the dangerous use of psychoactive substances such as alcohol, illicit drugs and opioids. Psychoactive substance use can lead to dependence syndrome, which is a cluster of behavioral, cognitive, and physiological phenomena that develop after repeated substance use. It typically includes a strong desire to consume the drug, inability to control consumption, continuing consumption despite the harmful consequences, giving higher priority to drug use over other activities, increased tolerance, and sometimes a physical withdrawal state. Substance abuse is a disease that impacts the brain, and because of that, stopping substance abuse requires not only medical help and personal commitment, but also requires community understanding and victim empowerment.

On October 26, 2017, United States President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic as a national public health emergency and believed that "we can be the generation that ends the opioid epidemic." The use of illegal drugs has been a long-standing problem in American society, a problem that has taken on a particular urgency in the last 30 years especially among youth. According to a study by the National Institute of Mental Health, a representative sample revealed that 78% of U.S. teens consumed alcohol, and 47% of the group said they consumed 12 or more drinks in the past year. When it came to drug use, 81% of teens said they had the opportunity to use illicit substances, but 42.5% have actually tried them. In addition, based on the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the substance abuse rate among youth aged 12 to 17 years was 7.3%. Furthermore, in 2012, the mean age of first alcohol use was 13.2 years and the mean age of first marijuana use was 12.8 years. Lastly, teenage alcohol use is responsible for 4,300 deaths of people under the age of 21 and almost 44% of high school students know at least one classmate that sells drugs.