The Centers for Disease Control report that from 1999 to 2017, more than 700,000 people have died from a drug overdose. Since most of this reporting period is prior to our current opioid crisis, we need to understand its impact. Of the more than 70,200 drug overdose deaths in 2017, 68% involved an opioid. In fact, the number of the opioid deaths in 2017 is six times higher than in 1999. Every day in our country, 130 persons die from an opioid overdose.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 21.5 million American adults (aged 12 and older) battled a substance use disorder in 2014. Almost 80 percent of these individuals struggled with an alcohol use disorder.

The problem is not restricted to adults. NSDUH reports that in 2014, approximately 5 percent of the American adolescent population suffered from a substance use disorder; this equates to 1.3 million teens, or 1 in every 12. Almost 700,000 American youths between ages 12 and 17 battled an alcohol use disorder in 2013, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

People dealing with a substance use disorder, and their families and friends, often feel alone and hopeless.