Adult substance misuse treatment statistics 2021 to 2022: report

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) effective for 55% of prescription misuse relapses prevention. Nonmedical use of prescription painkillers among 12th graders was 3.3% in 2022. Misuse of prescription sedatives causes respiratory depression in 25% of overdoses. Treatment costs for opioid use disorder average $15,000-$20,000 per patient yearly. You must have an account for this publisher on data.gov.uk to make any changes to a dataset.

Understanding MAT for Opioid Addiction

Ninety-nine percent of people received a psychosocial intervention while 55% received at least one prescribing intervention. You can also see how local areas compare on the numbers of dependent drinkers who are not in treatment on the Public Health Dashboard. People with household incomes of more than £52,000 per year were more likely to have used a Class A drug (4.0%) than those with incomes between £31,200 and £52,000. Differences were not statistically significant, compared with those with lower household incomes. The number of people with methamphetamine problems also rose, reaching 968 compared to 131 in 2011 to 2012. So, like 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects might have affected the data in this report.

Mental health

Up to 3 substances can be recorded at the start of treatment, so one person could be counted for several substances in their substance group. For example, somebody who uses cocaine, cannabis and alcohol, would appear in the non-opiate and alcohol group for these 3 substances. There were 329,646 adults aged 18 and over in contact with drug and alcohol treatment services between April 2024 and March 2025. This is a 6% rise compared to the previous year (310,863) and the highest number of adults in treatment since reporting began. Figure 3 shows a breakdown of the substances reported by people in treatment in 2022 to 2023, split into the 4 substance groups.

Prevalence data and analysis

The non-opiate group had the highest number of people (29,582) in treatment since reporting started, 3% higher than the previous peak in 2006 to 2007 (28,777).
The latest estimates of lifetime drug use and drug use in the last month can be found in Section 1 of the accompanying dataset.
Almost 1 in 10 people (9%) starting treatment said they had a risk of homelessness in the next 8 weeks.
The median age of people in treatment in the 4 substance groups ranged from 46 for the alcohol only group to 30 for non-opiates only.

Teenagers in South Dakota are 24.31% less likely to have used drugs in the last month than the average American teen. Teenagers in South Carolina are 1.80% more likely to have used drugs in the last month than the average American teen. Teenagers in Rhode Island are 1.73% more likely to have used drugs in the last month than the average American teen.

In 2021 alone, over 16,700 people died from overdose involving prescription opioids, exposing the dangerous consequences of misuse. Additionally, legal repercussions can arise if individuals are found misusing medications that are intended for someone else. Approximately 6% of Americans over the age of 12 are reported to abuse prescription drugs annually, which equates to around 16.3 million individuals misusing these drugs each year.

Overdose Prevention

prescription drug abuse statistics

However, there were increases in any drug use for those aged 45 to 54 years and 55 to 59 years, compared with YE March 2014. Around three-quarters of people aged 16 to 59 years who used any drug in the last year were infrequent users (73.7%), with half (50.3%) taking them only « once or twice » (Figure 4). Around four in five (79.8%) people aged 16 to 24 years were infrequent users. The overall number of people in treatment (329,646) increased by 6% since last year and is the highest number of people in treatment since reporting began. Of the people who left treatment, 46% completed their treatment successfully and were discharged as ‘treatment completed’. This was followed by the non-opiate group (49%) and the non-opiate and alcohol group (46%).

Stimulants used for ADHD, including amphetamines and methylphenidate, add to the mix, with around 1.7 million misusing them. Some new psychoactive substances (NPS) were previously legal to supply if they were not already controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. However, under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, all of these are now illegal to supply, produce and import.

prescription drug abuse statistics

Initiatives should focus on informing teenagers about the dangers of thinking that prescription medications are safer than illegal drugs. Parents play a what is alcoholism critical role by safeguarding medications at home and discussing responsible use with their children. School programs that address substance misuse can also promote awareness among adolescents. Despite some positive trends, such as a slight decline in overdose deaths related to specific opioid medications, the overall crisis of prescription drug misuse continues to pose significant challenges in public health.

Almost all (more than 99%) people in treatment received some form of structured treatment.
The average number of children per household where people in treatment live with a child was 1.9.
Around 8.0% of people aged 16 to 59 years who used powder cocaine and 2.2% of people who used ecstasy reported using these drugs frequently (more than once a month), similar to the previous year.

If you live in New Hampshire or Massachusetts and want help prescription drug abuse with a prescription drug abuse addiction, Clear Steps Recovery is ready and poised to help. We approach each client individually and design a treatment plan specifically to meet each person’s unique needs. ● Opioids, ketamine, and benzodiazepines are majorly misused prescription drugs in the UK, posing significant public health threats.

Figure 9 shows the proportions of people starting treatment who had a risk of being made homeless in the next 8 weeks, separated into the 4 substance groups. Thirty-nine per cent of people starting treatment with opiate problems had no home of their own, the highest proportion among the 4 substance groups, and 8% were living on the streets. From 2022 to 2023, services could record more detailed information about the current housing situation of people in treatment. This included the new category ‘risk of homelessness within the next 8 weeks’.

Prolonged misuse of prescription medications can lead to serious health complications, including organ damage, mental health disorders, and increased risk of overdose. Many people begin using prescription drugs innocently for legitimate medical reasons, such as pain management or anxiety relief, but over time, they may unknowingly transition from proper use to misuse. Alcohol and drug treatment statistics reports for previous years can be found in the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities’ (OHID) Alcohol and drug misuse and treatment statistics collection. Figure 22 shows deaths as a proportion of total numbers of people in treatment, broken down by substance group. When they started treatment, they reported an average of 21.1 days drinking in the previous 28 days. When they started treatment, they reported an average of 23.0 days using opiates in the previous 28 days.