Do you get caught up in statistics? When they come from a reliable source, it's easier to believe the statistics may be valid. The Office of National Drug Control Policy has issued papers on various topics of which each has a statistic, which follow:
Four minutes: On average, every four minutes, someone in America is sent to treatment instead of prison through drug courts.
$6,120 per second: The estimated cost of drug use to the U.S. society in lost productivity, health care and criminal justice costs.
$193 billion: The estimated cost of drug use to the U.S. society in lost productivity, health care and criminal justice costs.
One-third: The amount by which the rate of current drug use in America has decreased since the late 1970s.
1 in 8: The rate of Americans driving on a weekend night testing positive for an illicit drug.
10: The percentage of American eighth-graders reporting using an illicit drug in the past month.
Drug use affects every sector of society, straining our economy, our healthcare and criminal justice systems, and endangering the futures and lives of young people. The marijuana of today is way more potent than the marijuana of the '60s. Baby boomers no longer can justify that they can't tell their kids not to use when they used in the good old days; the drugs are not the same today.
The Mental Health and Recovery Services Board is committed to sharing information and resources for better mental health and the prevention of substance abuse. If you would like more information, please call the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Seneca, Sandusky and Wyandot Counties at (419) 448-0640. The board's office hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.
Nancy Cochran, executive director
