USA Today (9/14) reported that according to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on Friday, “far fewer people in the United States started using heroin last year, but the decline among young new 18- to 25-year-old heroin users was almost imperceptible” while methamphetamine and marijuana use rose for that group. “In 2015, SAMHSA estimated 8.5 percent of people in that age range misused prescription opioids; that dropped to just over 7 percent in 2017.”
The AP (9/14, Johnson) reported the number of new users of heroin decreased from 170,000 in 2016 to 81,000 in 2017, “a one-year drop that would need to be sustained for years to reduce the number of fatal overdoses, experts said.”
Kaiser Health News (9/14) reported the survey “found that from 2015 to 2017 the percentage of pregnant women who reported marijuana use more than doubled, to 7.1 percent,” often believing it is safer than the FDA-approved drugs for combat nausea and pain, though mounting evidence suggests marijuana can cause preterm birth and long-term neurological problems in babies.
Related Links:
— “Number of new heroin users drops dramatically, but meth, marijuana use up, survey says, “Jayne O’Donnell and Terry DeMio, USA Today, September 14, 2018.