Topics in Brief

Declines in Methamphetamine Abuse by Youth

• Approximately 13 million people 12 years and older have abused methamphetamine in their lifetimes; in 2010, approximately 353,000 were current users (NSDUH).
• According to NIDA's 2010 Monitoring the Future Survey, the abuse rate among 8th 10th, and 12th graders declined significantly between 1999 and 2007 and has remained unchanged since then (Figure 1).

The Burden of Drug Abuse and Addiction

We have a public health mandate to stop the devastating scourge of drug abuse and addiction afflicting this country. Translating the knowledge we have gained into new medications could revolutionize the way we treat addiction and even how we prevent drug abuse from occurring in the first place. It is a gaping need.

Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice

Thousands of individuals seeking treatment for drug abuse will benefit from the NIDA Blending Initiative, which is designed to accelerate scientific findings into clinical practice. As the leading NIH Institute studying addiction, NIDA's commitment to bridging the gap between research and practice has resulted in the development of innovative tools to put directly in the hands of front-line treatment providers at nearly the same time that research results are published in peer-reviewed journals.

Genetics: the blueprint of health and disease

Drug abuse is a significant risk factor for HIV/AIDS in the U.S.

Approximately 4 out of 10 U.S. AIDS deaths are related to drug abuse.

• An estimated 1 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV/AIDS; about one-third of these cases are linked directly or indirectly to injection drug use.
• In 2003, more than one quarter (11,326) of the 43,171 AIDS cases reported in the U.S. involved injection drug use.

What is Comorbidity and What Are Its Causes?

When two disorders or illnesses occur simultaneously in the same person, they are called comorbid. Surveys show that drug abuse and other mental illnesses are often comorbid. Six out of ten people with a substance use disorder also suffer from another form of mental illness. But the high prevalence of these comorbidities does not mean that one condition caused the other, even if one appeared first. In fact, there are at least three scenarios that we should consider:

Opiate Addiction in the United States

Heroin, morphine, and some prescription painkillers (e.g., OxyContin, Vicodin, and Fentanyl) belong to the class of drugs known as opiates. They act on specific (opiate) receptors in the brain, which also interact with naturally produced substances known as endorphins or enkephalins– important in regulating pain and emotion. And while prescription painkillers are highly beneficial medications when used as prescribed, opiates as a general class of drugs have significant abuse liability.