The annual NSDUH report also indicated that progress has been made in curbing other types of the illicit drug use. For example, past month methamphetamine use among those aged 12 and older dropped sharply from approximately 529,000 people in 2007 to 314,000 in 2008. Similarly, the level of current cocaine use among the population aged 12 and older has decreased from 1.0% in 2006 to 0.7% in 2008.

Promising results from the latest survey also were also found for the most part among youth (12 to 17 year olds). Among youth there was a significant decline in overall past month illicit drug use, from 11.6% in 2002 to 9.3% in 2008. The rate of current marijuana use among youth has remained level at about 6.7% over the past few years while there have been significant decreases in the current use of alcohol, cigarettes and non-medical use of prescription drugs since 2007.

Historically, young adults have had the highest rates of substance abuse, and for most types of illicit substance abuse the levels have remained steady over the past year. However, over the past three years there has been a steady drop in the rate of heavy alcohol use by full time college students aged 18 to 22 – from a high of 19.5% in 2005 to 16.3% in 2008.

“The survey findings are important because they often point to emerging patterns of substance abuse,” said Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy. “Although we see some success reversing trends in prescription drug abuse, there are indications that progress in other areas may be at a standstill, or even slipping back, particularly among youth.”

The NSDUH continues to show a vast disparity between the number of number of people needing specialized treatment for a substance abuse problem and the number who actually receive it. According to the survey 23.1 million Americans need specialized treatment for a substance abuse problem, but only 2.3 million (or roughly 10 percent of them) get it.

The complete survey findings are available on the SAMHSA web site.

Related: Prescription Drug Abuse: Pain Killers Can Lead to Addition – Methamphetamine Abuse Costs U.S. $23.4 Billion – Drug Rehab Centers in Los Angeles

According to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 6.9 million people ages 12 or older used prescription medications for nonmedical use in the month before being surveyed. That total included 5.2 million using pain relievers, 1.8 million using tranquilizers, 1.1 million using stimulants and 350,000 using sedatives.

In 2003, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that about one-third of all U.S. drug abuse is prescription-drug abuse.

Locally, as many as 30 percent of the patients in the inpatient and outpatient treatment at the Community Healing Centers are addicted to prescription drugs, said Sally Reames, executive director of the nonprofit substance-abuse-treatment agency. And many have “secondary” addictions to alcohol, she said, a potentially fatal combination.
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People often mistakenly believe that prescription drugs are safe because a doctor is prescribing them, said Dr. Michael Liepman, a professor of psychiatry at Michigan State University Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies and medical director of the Jim Gilmore Jr. Community Healing Center. Many patients who end up addicted to prescription drugs start with a legitimate pain condition.
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“Sometimes people think, ‘If one pill makes me feel better, three will be better,’” said Dr. Richard Tooker, chief medical officer for Kalamazoo County. In the case of pain killers derived from opium, increasing the amount taken can be deadly because these drugs decrease brain activity, breathing rates and heart rates.
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The prescription drugs that Reames has observed are most often abused are Vicodin, OxyContin and the anti-anxiety medication Xanax.

Liepman said he sees extensive addiction to opiate pain killers, anti-anxiety drugs such as Xanax, Klonopin and Ativan as well as abuse of drugs prescribed for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The problems due to abuse of prescription drugs are not as widely known as the problems caused by illegal drugs. While both are serious for many that would not consider taking illegal drugs the dangers of prescription drugs and alcohol are the biggest risks. People must be careful to use powerful drugs as directed and even then understand there are real risks to doing so.

Related: Methamphetamine Abuse Costs U.S. $23.4 Billion – Brett Favre Overcomes Painkiller Addiction

Brett Favre’s addiction to painkillers (1996)

After the seizure had ended and he had come to his senses, Favre looked into a sea of concerned medical faces and saw Packers associate team physician John Gray. “You’ve just suffered a seizure, Brett,” Gray told him. “People can die from those.” Favre’s heart sank. Upon hearing from doctors in the room that his dependence on painkillers might have contributed to the seizure, he thought, I’ve got to stop the pills, I’ve just got to.

Last season Favre went on such a wild ride with the prescription drug Vicodin, a narcotic-analgesic painkiller, that Tynes feared for his life. He scavenged pills from teammates. At least once he took 13 tablets in a night. But on Tuesday of last week, during his final telephone call before entering the Menninger Clinic, a rehabilitation center in Topeka, Kansas [which moved to Florida in 2003], to treat his dependency (and also to evaluate his occasional heavy drinking), Favre told SI that he hadn’t taken Vicodin since the seizure. “I quit cold turkey,” he said, “and I entered the NFL substance-abuse program voluntarily. I don’t want a pill now, but I want to go into a rehab center because I want to make sure I’m totally clean.
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Tynes wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath. She sniffled a few times. “You know,” she said, “he’s changed already. He talks to me again. He takes Brittany and me out. He pays attention to us. A few days ago he hugged me and he thanked me for everything I’ve done, and he said some really nice things to me.”

She wiped her eyes again. “I said, ‘I can’t believe it. The old Brett’s back!’” Time will tell. The true test will start in September.

Time has shown the answer, after struggles for several years, as Brett Favre has continued his amazing NFL career with great success.

Through triumph & tragedy, Deanna and Brett Favre remain a constant

After doctors found severe liver damage in 1996, Brett agreed to enter rehab, and was able to kick his addiction. He and Deanna were married several months later and welcomed daughter Breleigh in 1999, but his problems with substance abuse had not ended. By 1999, Brett had returned to heavy partying, and was abusing alcohol. Deanna contacted a divorce attorney, which helped scare her husband into quitting drinking entirely, according to Deanna.

The 1990s tested their relationship, but Deanna ultimately appreciated that Brett chose to seek help. “He was battling a disease,” she says. “I was trying to support him, and when he started making the right choices by getting the help he needed, that made a difference.”

Life had stabilized for the Favres by 2003: Brett was sober and a Super Bowl-winning icon in Green Bay, and Brittany and Breleigh were healthy and happy. “We were at a good spot in our lives,” Deanna says.

Then, in December 2003, Brett’s father died in a car accident. The following October, Deanna’s 24-year-old brother Casey was killed when his all-terrain vehicle hit a patch of gravel and flipped. Casey had recently overcome his own drug problems, and his girlfriend was eight months pregnant when he died.

In her memoir, Deanna described the loss of her brother as the darkest time in her life, but the darkness would not pass quickly – just days after Casey’s funeral, Deanna was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35.

Related: The Family of Favre Blog (family photo) – Deanna Favre Hope Foundation – Green Bay Press Gazette Favre Tribute (action photo) – Maradona Drug Rehab – Los Angels Drug Rehab Centers