JUST THINK TWICE

Get a few quick facts about the opioid misuse problem in Arizona and nationwide below. 

IN ARIZONA:

• Between June 2017 and June 2019 there were over 20,000 suspected opioid overdoses.  [1]
• 50% of opioid overoses between June 2017 and June 2019 involved 15-34 year olds.  [1]

HEROIN ABUSE:

• The vast majority of teens do not use heroin. In a 2017 national survey, only 0.4% of 12th graders used heroin in the past year.[2] 
• 96.4% of 12th graders disapprove of taking heroin occasionally.[2]
• In 2016, over 600,000 people (12 or older) reported having a heroin use disorder.[3]
   

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE:

• Prescription opioid analgesics, specifically those containing oxycodone and hydrocodone, are the most common types of prescription drugs that are diverted for misuse and abused.
• Each day in the United States, over 192 people die as a result of a drug overdose.[4] 
• In 2016, an estimated 3.2 million people (aged 12 or older) reported past month misuse of opioid pain relievers.[3]  
• 53% of nonmedical users (12 years or older) reported receiving the prescription drugs they most recently used “from a friend or relative for free.”[5] 

FENTANYL

• Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times stronger than morphine.
• ​The death rate of synthetic opioids other than methadone, jumped by 72.2% from 2014 to 2015.[6]
• During 2016 alone there were almost 29,000 reports of fentanyl (up from 1,041 reports in 2013).[7] 

Learn More About the Science of Addiction Explore common misconceptions about opioids through the voices of teens. Go to Operation Prevention.

¹ Source: "Opioid Epidemic," Arizona Department of Health Services. View source here.

² Source: University of Michigan, 2018 Monitoring the Future Study. View source here.

³ Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, September 2018.  View source here.

⁴ Source: Drug and Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths — United States, 2013–2017. View source here.

⁵ Source: Prescription Drug Use and Misuse in the United States: Results from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, September 2016.  View source here.

⁶ Source: Rudd RA, Seth P, David F, Scholl L. Increases in Drug and Opioid-Involved Overdose Deaths — United States, 2010–2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 16 December 2016. View source here.

⁷ Source: “Fentanyl: The Next Wave of the Opioid Crisis.” Statement from Louis J. Milione Assistant Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration. March 21, 2017.