“Substance Abuse Statistics:

Among Americans aged 12 years and older, 37.309 million were current illegal drug users (used within the last 30 days) as of 2020.

• 13.5% of Americans 12 and over used drugs in the last month, a 3.8% increase year-over-year (YoY).
• 59.277 million or 21.4% of people 12 and over have used illegal drugs or misused prescription drugs within the last year.
• 138.543 million or 50.0% of people aged 12 and over have illicitly used drugs in their lifetime.
• Usership among people aged 12 and over is down 0.4% YoY.
• 138.522 million Americans 12 and over drink alcohol.
• 28.320 million or 20.4% of them have an alcohol use disorder.
• 57.277 million people use tobacco or nicotine products (vape).
• 25.4% of illegal drug users have a drug disorder.
• 24.7% of those with drug disorders have an opioid disorder; this includes prescription pain relievers or “pain killers” and heroin).

National Center for Drug Abuse NCDAS (NCDAS: Substance Abuse and Addiction Statistics [2023])