Drugs known to produce physical dependence are the opiates (i.e., opium and its derivatives) and central-nervous-system depressants such as barbiturates and alcohol. Psychological dependence is indicated when the user relies on a drug to produce a feeling of well-being. In its most intense form the user becomes obsessed with the drug and focuses virtually all his interest and activity on obtaining and using it. Substance use disorders can involve illicit drugs, prescription drugs, or alcohol. Substance use disorders are linked to many health problems, and overdoses can lead to emergency department visits and deaths.
NIDA-supported prevention research adapts to address evolving situations like the current drug overdose crisis; equitable access to health care; and social and structural influences on health. NIDA research also aims to promote and to capitalize on advances in basic and behavioral sciences, data science, and technology. Substance use disorders are chronic, treatable medical conditions from which people can recover. They are defined in part by continued substance use despite negative outcomes. Substance use disorders may be diagnosed as mild, moderate, or severe based on whether a person meets defined diagnostic criteria.
Which risk and protective factors impact whether people use drugs or develop substance use disorders?
For a teenager, risky times include moving, family divorce, or changing schools.35 When children advance from elementary through middle school, they face new and challenging social, family, and academic situations. Often during this period, children are exposed to substances such as cigarettes and alcohol for the first time. When they enter high school, teens may encounter greater availability of drugs, drug use by older teens, and social activities where drugs are used. When individuals leave high school and live Prevent Drug Misuse more independently, either in college or as an employed adult, they may find themselves exposed to drug use while separated from the protective structure provided by family and school.
Primary prevention is a public health strategy of intervening before negative health effects occur, including delaying or preventing young people’s use of harmful substances that may lead to overdose or other substance-related harms. Prevention requires understanding the multiple factors that influence individual choices and behaviors related to substance use. The socio-ecological model offers a framework for assessing the range of factors that put people at risk for experiencing the negative effects of substance use, as well as the factors that can protect against those risk factors.
Preventing Opioid Overdose
Solvent abuse, commonly known as “glue-sniffing,” is a growing problem, especially among teenagers and even younger children. The inhalation of volatile solvents produces temporary euphoria but can lead to death by respiratory depression, asphyxiation, or other causes. The discovery of the mood-altering qualities of fermented fruits and substances such as opium has led to their use and, often, acceptance into society. Just as alcohol has a recognized social place in the West, so many other psychotropics have been accepted in different societies. Read more about how NIDA is advancing the science on effective prevention strategies. If you aren’t sure, it is best to treat the situation like an overdose—you could save a life.
Effective treatments for substance use disorders are available, but very few people get the treatment they need. Strategies to prevent substance use — especially in adolescents — and help people get treatment can reduce drug and alcohol misuse, related health problems, and deaths. More than 20 million adults and adolescents in the United States have had a substance use disorder in the past year.1 Healthy People 2030 focuses on preventing drug and alcohol misuse and helping people with substance use disorders get the treatment they need. The purchase, sale, and nonmedical consumption of all the aforementioned drugs are illegal, and these psychotropic drugs can be obtained only on the black market. Alcohol, for instance, can be legally purchased throughout much of the world, despite its high potential for abuse.
Opioid settlements provide an opportunity for states and localities to strategically invest in priorities for addressing the ongoing substance use crisis. Continued investment of evidence-based practices and strategies for reducing substance use, supporting early intervention, and reducing harms is critical to building a future addiction infrastructure. Johns Hopkins University’s Principles for the Use of Funds From the Opioid Litigation — which many states have incorporated into their settlement decision-making processes — includes investing in youth primary prevention programs as a key priority for settlement funding. With prevention activities already supported by wide variety of agencies and governmental levels, investing opioid settlements in prevention offers state officials an opportunity to collaborate strategically, strengthen existing prevention infrastructure, and create opportunities for future prevention activities. States can employ these approaches at these distinct levels as part of a comprehensive prevention strategy, which recognizes the importance of different risk and protective factors that interplay at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels. Working with established community-based organizations allows states to bolster existing locally informed prevention projects that have longstanding trust among residents.
International Standards on Drug Use Prevention
Also, dependence on prescribed drugs is not uncommon, especially with tranquilizers and hypnotics. What was once a serious social problem of dependence on prescribed barbiturates has been overtaken largely by the widespread use of benzodiazepine tranquilizers such as diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax) and chlordiazepoxide (Librium) . Developing and testing new, safe, effective, and sustainable strategies to prevent substance use or misuse and their progression to substance use disorders or other negative health effects is a key research priority for NIDA. When we act early, we can prevent illegal substance use, including illegal opioids, and misuse of prescription medications, like opioids, that can lead to substance use disorders. The following examples show best and promising practices for implementing these allowable primary prevention activities, using settlement funding or other funding streams. As the only study of its kind, the ABCD study will yield critical insights into the foundational aspects of adolescence that shape a person’s future.
Economics of Prevention
The CDC states that airing campaign messages at sufficient levels of reach among the target audience can lead to changes in campaign-targeted knowledge and attitudes within six to 12 months and changes in behaviors within 12 to 24 months after the campaign launch. At the state level, numerous states are investing in efforts to reduce stigma and increase awareness of available supports. Problems relating to drug abuse can also occur with substances not normally thought of as drugs.
What are evidence-based prevention strategies? How are they delivered, and what kinds of activities do they include?
- The purchase, sale, and nonmedical consumption of all the aforementioned drugs are illegal, and these psychotropic drugs can be obtained only on the black market.
- Prevention requires understanding the multiple factors that influence individual choices and behaviors related to substance use.
- By using comprehensive prevention strategies, youth council members develop and implement activities and messaging around their area of focus to engage with peers and adults across the state.
- The major problem that arises from the consumption of psychotropic drugs is dependence, the compulsion to use the drug despite any deterioration in health, work, or social activities.
- Substance use disorders may be diagnosed as mild, moderate, or severe based on whether a person meets defined diagnostic criteria.
The age at which people start using drugs—and whether or not they continue—depends on many different individual and societal factors across a person’s life. Read more about risk and protective factors that impact whether people use drugs or develop substance use disorders. The development of effective, non-addicting pain medications is a public health priority. A growing number of older adults and an increasing number of injured military service members add to the urgency of finding new treatments. In 2015, the federal government launched an initiative to reduce overdose and prevent people from developing opioid use disorders. Coordinated federal efforts to safely address opioid misuse, addiction, and overdose while understanding, managing, and treating pain are ongoing.
- At the state level, numerous states are investing in efforts to reduce stigma and increase awareness of available supports.
- Importantly, evidence-based prevention strategies can help people avoid substance use and substance use disorders.
- Many people—especially young people—use drugs out of curiosity and because of social pressure.
- Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov.
- As noted previously, early use of drugs increases a person’s chances of becoming addicted.
Administer naloxone or another opioid overdose reversal medication (if available) and then call 911. Try to keep the person awake and breathing and lay the person on their side to prevent choking. The emergency and referral resources listed above are available to individuals located in the United States and are not operated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Development of Safer Medications
Some people use the term to describe some substance use disorders, especially more serious presentations. OUD significantly contributes to overdose deaths among people who use illegal opioids or misuse prescription opioids. Opioids—mainly synthetic opioids like illegally made fentanyl–are currently the most represented in overdose deaths. Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), sometimes referred to as “opioid dependence” or “opioid addiction,” is a problematic pattern of opioid use that causes significant impairment or distress. OUD is a medical condition that can affect anyone – regardless of race, sex, income level, or social class. Like many other medical conditions, evidence-based treatments are available for OUD, but seeking treatment remains stigmatized.
What are substance use disorders? What is addiction?
The term addiction is often used synonymously with dependence but should probably be reserved for drugs known to cause physical dependence. For every overdose that results in death, there are many more nonfatal overdoses, each one with its own emotional and economic toll.3 OUD and overdose deaths continue to be a major public health concern in the United States, but they are preventable. A recent study among 29 states and the District of Columbia showed the percentage of overdose deaths involving counterfeit pills more than doubled from July 2019 to December 2021, and more than tripled in the Western United States. These pills are dangerous because they typically appear as pharmaceutical pills but often contain illegally made fentanyl and illegal benzodiazepines or other drugs, with or without people’s knowledge. Many regional and national media campaigns to address stigma are underway, and the SAMHSA-funded Prevention Technology Transfer Center offers a list of current campaign resources.
NIDA funds research to understand risk and protective factors, to reduce risk factors and bolster protective factors, and to translate this understanding into evidence-based strategies and determine how best to implement and scale these strategies. NIDA also supports research to examine the social and economic impact of certain laws and policies in preventing substance use and its negative health effects. Together, this research helps policymakers and public health professionals make informed decisions to promote better health outcomes around substance use. Preventing or stopping nonmedical use of prescription drugs is an important part of patient care. However, certain patients can benefit from prescription stimulants, sedatives, or opioid pain relievers. Therefore, physicians should balance the legitimate medical needs of patients with the potential risk for misuse and related harms.