The number of U.S. residents using heroin for the first time fell by more than 50 percent in 2017, according to the latest by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Among other findings, the agency found that more people received treatment for substance use disorders in 2017 than in years past, especially those with heroin-related SUDs. Young adults (age 18-25) were more likely to use cigarettes, alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine and LSD than their older counterparts, and more likely to have alcohol or heroin-related SUDs. They also have increasing rates of methamphetamine and marijuana use, serious mental illness and major depressive episodes, the agency said. Between 2015 and 2017, data also have trended in the wrong direction with respect to illicit drug use by pregnant women, the agency . 鈥淭he NSDUH data provide an essential roadmap for where we must focus our efforts,鈥 said Elinore McCance-Katz, M.D., assistant secretary for mental health and substance use. 
 

Related News Articles

Headline
The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a markup April 29 where it advanced the AHA-supported SUPPORT Act (H.R. 2483). The legislation would reauthorize鈥
Headline
The National Institutes of Health April 3 released a study that found an artificial intelligence screening tool was as effective as health care providers in鈥
Headline
The Department of Health and Human Services March 18 announced that it renewed the public health emergency for the nation鈥檚 opioid crisis an additional 90 days鈥
Headline
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General Feb. 18 released a report that found about 40% of Medicare enrollees who began opioid鈥
Headline
Today the Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Health and Human Services announced that the effective date for the final rule regarding鈥
Headline
The Food and Drug Administration Jan. 30 announced it approved Journavx (suzetrigine) oral tablets, a first-in-class non-opioid drug, to treat moderate to鈥