RESOURCES

DID YOU KNOW?

  • Substance misuse is a chronic medical condition affecting the brain and behavior.
  • Recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) is possible. Over 70% of adults who’ve experienced substance misuse who are in recovery or recovered from SUD. [1]
  • Treatment and recovery are not a one size-fit-all approach. The continuum of care model supports the spectrum of treatment allowing patients with SUD to enter the level that fits them best and to move up and down, as needed. [2]
  • Medicated Assisted Treatment (MAT) combined with therapy can successfully treat SUD; in addition to increase patient survival, increase treatment retention, decrease illicit opiate use and criminal activity, increase patients’ ability to gain and maintain employment, and improve birth outcomes for pregnant people with SUD. [3]
  • Protective factors including healthy family and peer relationships and financial stability may reduce a person’s risk of developing SUDs. [4]
  • Relapse or return to drug use after an attempt to start is a part of treatment. It takes on average five (5) recovery attempts for those experiencing substance misuse to remediate SUD symptoms. [5]
  • Harm reduction is an evidence-based and community-driven approach that reduces the potential harms to individuals, families, and communities associated with substance misuse. Harm reduction services prevent injuries, disease, deaths, overdoses, and support the connection to care. [6]

[1]  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA). (2023, November). Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt42731/2022-nsduh-annual-national-web-110923/2022-nsduh-nnr.htm.

[2] Strategic Prevention Technical Assistance Center (SPTAC). The Institute of Medicine’s Continuum of Care. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/resourcefiles/sptac-continuum-of-care.pdf.

[3] SAMSHA. (2024, April 11). Substance Use Disorder Treatment Options. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/substance-use/treatment/options

[4] National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (2023, September). Prevention: Highlights. Retrieved from https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/prevention.

[5] NIDA. (2020, July 6). Drugs, Brain, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction. Retrieved from https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/addiction-science/drugs-brain-behavior-science-of-addiction.

[6] SAMSHA. (2024, October 29). Harm Reduction. Retrieved by https://www.samhsa.gov/substance-use/harm-reduction.