An estimated 2.4 million Americans used marijuana for the first time in 2000. Because of the way trends in the new use of substances are estimated, estimates of first- time use are always a year behind estimates of current use. The annual number of new marijuana users has varied considerably since 1965 when there were an estimated 0.6 million new users. The number of new marijuana users reached a peak in 1976 and 1977 at around 3.2 million. Between 1990 and 1996, the estimated number of new users increased from 1.4 million to 2.5 million and has remained at this level.

The measure of perceived risk in the use of marijuana among youth provides an important predictor of drug use, particularly among youths. As perceived risk of using marijuana decreases, rates of marijuana use tend to increase. Perceived great risk of smoking marijuana once or twice a week decreased from 56.4 percent in 2000 to 53.3 percent in 2001. Among youths age 12 to 17, the percentage reporting great risk in marijuana use declined from 56.0 to 53.5 percent.

Ecstasy

The number of persons who had ever tried Ecstasy (MDMA) increased from 6.5 million in 2000 to 8.1 million in 2001. There were 786,000 current users in 2001. In 2000, an estimated 1.9 million persons used Ecstasy (MDMA) for the first time compared with 0.7 million in 1998. This change represents a tripling in incidence in just 2 years.

Oxycontin ®

The number of persons reporting use of Oxycontin ® for non-medical purposes at least once in their lifetime increased from 221,000 in 1999 to 399,000 in 2000 to 957,000 in 2001. The annual number of new users of pain relievers non medically has also been increasing since the mid-1980s when there were roughly 400,000 initiates. In 2000, there were an estimated 2.0 million.

Alcohol

About 10.1 million persons age 12 to 20 years reported current use of alcohol in 2001. This number represents 28.5 percent of this age group for whom alcohol is an illicit substance. Of this number, nearly 6.8 million, or 19.0 percent, were binge drinkers and 2.1 million, or 6.0 percent, were heavy drinkers. In 2001, more than 1 in 10 Americans, or 25.1 million persons, reported driving under the influence of alcohol at least once in the 12 months prior to the interview. The rate of driving under the influence of alcohol increased from 10.0 to 11.1 percent between 2000 and 2001. Among young adults age 18 to 25 years, 22.8 percent, drove under the influence of alcohol.


Information contained above is courtesy of: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services

We at Synergy Group Services have personally faced the disease of alcohol and drug addiction as a family. It is our journey of recovery that has given us the passion and the desire to use our knowledge and skill to help other families suffering from the disease of drug and alcohol addiction.

Synergy Group Services is a family owned and operated drug and alcohol rehab center in South Florida offering individualized Drug and Alcohol Treatment programs to provide dignified rehabilitation care in a multi-modality environment.

Drug and alcohol rehab programs in Synergy, combine the traditional (12 step) programs with the alternative rehab therapies like the holistic methods of drug and alcohol addition recovery to ensure a success rate with minimized chance of relapse in every one of our clients.

Synergy believes strongly in dual diagnosis rehab and treatment as a complementary tool in addiction recovery. Our personalized recovery and addiction treatment programs for alcohol addiction treatment, heroin addiction treatment, prescription drug addiction treatment, and Suboxone treatment are designed for successful recovery of each individual from his or her specific addiction. For more information, contact us at our toll free addiction help line 1-888-267-8070.
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