Alcohol and Prescription Drug Use in San Diego County - Are you Becoming Dependent?

Most people in Carmel Valley, Del Mar, La Jolla, San Diego and Scripps Ranch at least try drinking alcohol sometime during their life. Many others have been given a prescription for pain medication due to an injury, dental or surgical procedure. For many people, the substance makes them feel so good, that they look forward to the drink or pain pill, like a reward for having done a good job at work or school. Unfortunately, some people are genetically wired to like the drug or alcohol so much that they become physically dependent on the substance and physically have to drink more alcohol or take more pills to just feel normal. The amount of time it takes for this to happen varies with the person, gender and the substance. It can take from 6 months to a 2 years for prescription pain medication to become physically dependent and alcohol can take from 2-10 plus years for a person to become dependent. The pattern of symptoms though are similar:

-- drinking or using drugs to calm your nerves
-- occasional memory lapses after heavy drinking or drugging
-- thinking a lot about the next time you will have a drink or use drugs
-- hiding your drugs or alcohol
-- sneaking while you are drinking or doing drugs so you won't be found out
-- feeling guilty about drinking or using the drugs
-- difficulty in your relationships - angry or aggressive over small events
-- deep inside there is a feeling of helplessness; you are drinking or doing the drugs and can't even stop yourself, no how hard you try
-- beginning of depression with the frequent thoughts of feeling hopeless, futile.

If you feel you or a family member is suffering from the use of alcohol or prescription drugs, you may be suffering from a substance use disorder that is causing the problem. Seek help before the symptoms and consequences get more severe. We can help. Professional. Confidential.


Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS

Prescription Drug Abuse in Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Encinitas and Carlsbad

Prescription drug addiction continues to be a growing problem that many people don't take as seriously as they should.  Join Together, reported today that according to research from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) about 70 percent of 12-17 year olds see great risk in smoking a pack of cigarettes or more daily compared to 40 percent who saw great risk in binge drinking and about 34 percent who perceived great risk in smoking marijuana monthly.

Back in July of 09, after years of focusing primarily on marijuana use, there was news  from CBS News that the more urgent growing problem is prescription-drug misuse  antidrug campaigns from both the private and public sector have turned their attention to what's seen as a more urgent problem: prescription-drug misuse. 
Authorities say marijuana by comparison to prescription drug use, is 'benign'.  
        Prescription drugs that create physical dependency and addiction belong in two classes of pills; opiates and benzodiazepines.  opiates include drug such as codeine, vicodin, norco, oxycodone and benzodiazepines/tranquillizer drugs including xanax, valium, ambian and others.


Many people feel that since the medications were originally prescribed by a doctor that their prescription drug abuse is different. Getting high on an FDA approved drug, traps people into the illusion that they are safely manufactured and will not become a problem.

Yet in October 2009,  a local website in San Diego reported on the growing problems of teens and prescription drug abuse:  the county medical examiner when discussing teen deaths from drugs reported 54 oxycodone-related deaths between 2008 and 2009, up from 17 deaths between 2004 and 2006,  He also stated that adding the death rate from alcohol and heroin brings death rate for 16 - 25 year old alcohol and drug users, even higher.


The Signs of Addiction to Prescription Drugs:

          --A preoccupation with symptoms of pain or sleeplessness in order to justify the request for more medication.
          --Lack of interest in doing other activities unrelated to the drug using experience.
          --Good, drug induced feelings preoccupy the mind.
          --Mood swings.
          --Borrowing from friends and/or purchasing from drug dealers.
          --Purchasing drugs on the internet or from pharmacies in Mexico.
          --Past history of drug addiction.
          --On and off relief from anxiety.
          --Using more than the recommended amount of the medication.
          --Taking medications from family, friends or strangers medicine cabinets.
          --Hiding medications or lying about taking them.
Medication changes the brain chemistry,making it less effective at producing chemicals like dopamine or endorphin. Since the brain has stopped producing these chemicals itself, they must be introduced through another source.  At this point, the prescription drug addict has become physically dependent on the medication. 


Effects of Excessive Use of Prescription Pills:
A person who is addicted to prescription drugs may experience the following:
          --Anxiety
          --Depression
          --Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
          --Loss of interest in relationships with friends or family members
          --Withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop using the medications on their own

Important:    Consumption with or without alcohol can effect the central nervous system causing respiratory distress,  failure or even death. 

Lasting Recovery provides Detoxification Services and Intensive Outpatient Treatment for Prescription medication addiction.  Recovery is possible --- we can help.   



Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS
Co-Founder and Clinical Director


 





 

Will Alcohol and Drug Rehab Help My Relationship?

The impact of alcohol and drug use on relationships can be severe:
     ---arguments
     ---misunderstandings
     ---broken promises
     ---betrayal
     ---disappointment
     ---guilt and shame

Tense situations fueled by alcohol or drugs lower the threshold of our patience, impairs judgment and lessens impulse control, damaging a person or a family for life.  This cycle of destructive relationship interactions can continue until one or both of the people get off the sinking ship.

Alcohol Rehab helps you and your loved ones to:
     ---Recognize that alcohol and drugs are the problem, not the person
     ---Stop trying to change each other and learn to accept the other person
     ---Attend support groups to talk to others who understand
     ---Overcome mistrust and find hope
     ---Experience relaxation for the first time in a long time
     ---Be honest in their daily lives
     ---Recognize the cycle of addiction that leads to relapse and build in new recovery pathways.

I began working with people who suffer from addiction problems since 1981 and have seen hundreds of couples repair and strengthen their relationships with partners, parents, children, extended family, friends and  employers. Yes, Alcohol and Drug Rehab will help your relationship. Give yourself a chance to recover.

Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS
Co-Owner and Clinical Director
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Treatment of Opiate Dependency in Young Adults in Sorrento Valley

I have something to celebrate this month - 32 years free from an opiate addiction.

Given opiates for a pain problem that became chronic, I was hooked for 10 years on codeine.  As I write this, I recall how grateful I am to be free of the destructive power opiates had over my thoughts, emotions and quality of life.

Drug addiction to opiates in San Diego County continues to be a growing problem.  The first time users are usually young men and women, who like myself, are emotionally sensitive and who find reducing emotional and physical pain with opiates quite intoxicating.  The euphoria and increased sense of well-being by using the drugs, draw the user back into the illusion that all their emotional and relationship problems related to fear, anxiety and anger, will magically disappear...forever.  We are chemically lulled into sleep, thinking that life is, indeed, very good.

However, young women and men, living in all areas of San Diego, including La Jolla, Del Mar or Encinitas, who use opiates begin to realize after a short time that they want more of the drug (the craving has begun, and it is hoped that taking more will make the drug experience better, just like the first use) only this time the drugs do not bring the same positive effects.  Instead they feel drowsiness, disorientation and dulled senses.  The  motor coordination in these young users  is effected, and they may prefer to just lay around. Life starts to become depressing.   It is not unusual that people begin to use different drugs and perhaps alcohol to try and get the chemical high through mixing substances.

Judgment about important decisions related to work, school money, relationships or family are impaired. People lose jobs, relationships, money and family.  By this time, which could be 3-4 months or a couple of years, the positive effects of the drug are no long present, the negative effects of the opiates are dominating the person's life and living revolves around obtaining the drug to avoid the physical withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms include feeling sick, vomiting diarrhea, poor appetite, stomach cramps, dry mouth, restlessness, headache, fainting attacks, stiffness, muscles twitching, fatigue, or tiredness, muscular tension, aches and pains, weakness and insomnia.

Feeling these same withdrawal symptoms for about 6 months, I'm glad I chose to withdraw from the opiates anyway,  breaking  my dependency on this drug.   For 10 years I carried those little white pills in the brown plastic bottle, day and night.  I couldn't remember what it felt like without them, and I was willing to give it a try. It had to be better than what I was feeling and the way I was living.

Today, 32 years later, I still know it was the best decision I ever made.  I feel great most days and have the opportunity to help others who suffer from addictions.

Our medical director, Michael Markopoulos, MD can help you detox from the opiate/withdrawal wheel with the use of Suboxone. It isn't a long term answer, and it will help you reduce the early symptoms.  You don't need to suffer withdrawal for 6 months.  After a detox from the opiates you will benefit from entering an outpatient treatment program where you will learn how to stay clean and discover healthy way to meet life's opportunities.

Get the help you need today.  Call us at 858-453-4315.

Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS

Tranquillizer and Sedative Dependence in San Diego Neighborhoods

More and more people who suffer from anxiety or sleeplessness are prescribed medications from their doctors.  Some pople find that using these drugs to get high is a dangerous game. Young people are overdosing from using xanax along with opiate medications. We see young people whose have stalled their lives, from Carmel Valley, Del Mar, La Jolla and Encinitas due to the fact that they are suffering from having become dependent on drugs.

These medications are often obtained by young people from drug dealers and older people who tend to go to their physicians.  Being unaware that the increasing physical dependence is taking over, these people will take the prescribed 30 days of medications in 2-3 days, leaving them desperate to get more medications.  I have spoken with men and women of all ages who were surprised when they found they had taken the entire prescription in a few days, as if they could not get enough. Just like the person who finds that they now cannot stop at just two drinks, the compulsion to drink more or to use more of the drugs overpowers them and their physiological addiction is beginning to take control of their life.  Whether it is alcohol or prescription drugs, people are confused and feeling guilty, and desperate, some people will begin to shop for more alcohol or doctors who will fill the prescriptions for the narcotics.  Others will go on the internet and order a large supply of drugs which are then delivered within a day or two.  Some people who are not addicted will go to Mexico to purchase the drugs from the pharmacies who sell to them without a prescription.

If you find that you are physically dependent on these medications, do not try to detox yourself. Withdrawal from alcohol, valium, librium, xanax and ambien,can cause severe anxiety symptoms, including seizures.

Lasting recovery Outpatient Detoxification offers confidential medically supervised detoxification from alcohol and prescription drugs. Our Medical Director, Michael Markopoulos, MD can help you with early recovery cravings for alcohol including Naltrexone, and Suboxon for opioid dependence.
You do not have to recover alone. Call Lasting Recovery for help with your chemical dependency treatment needs.

Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS

Prescription Drug Addiction in San Diego County

Men and women of all ages, from San Diego County, including  Coronado, La Jolla, Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach and Carmel Valley contact us for information on what to do when they are afraid of stopping the use of these prescription drugs, including opiates and tranquillizer medications. Some attempts to stop use of the drugs, fail because of the severity of the withdrawal symptom.  They report being extremely sick from opiates or experiencing severe anxiety from the tranquillizer or sedative medications including Xanax and Ambian.  We often see people taking the opiates and tranquillizers or sedatives in a dangerous combination.

What is considered prescription drug abuse?  Although most people take prescription medications responsibly, Nora Volkow, MD, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse stated recently that the nonmedical use or abuse of prescription drugs is a serious and growing public health problem in the country.

OPIATE ABUSE/DEPENDENCE
Research by the National Institute on Drug Abuse monitoring survey of grades 8 through 12, found that 9.3 percent  of 12 graders reported using Vicodin without a prescription in the past year and 5.0 percent reported using OxyContin - making these medications among the most commonly abused prescription drugs by adolescents.

We have seen young adults who were introduced to opiates by being prescribed Vicodin or even OxyContin for sports injuries in high school, then abusing the drugs for recreation.  They like the high they get and want increased doses as they gradually become addicted to the opiates and begin to buy them from local drug dealers.  We see many young people from 18-26 whose lives have never gotten started on a solid drug free foundation and others whose work and academic careers are failing because of the physical, emotional, social and financial problems crated by addiction.

OxyContin is classified as a synthetic opiate and will give these young abusers a feeling similar to high grade heroin, but the physical withdrawal symptoms last longer.  Symptoms of withdrawal include: perpetually being tired, hot/cold sweats, vomiting, nausea, heart palpitations, joints and muscles in constant pain, uncontrollable coughing, diarrhea, insomnia, restlessness, involuntary leg movements, watery eyes, excessive yawning, depression and cold flashes with goose bumps, hence the name cold turkey.

Symptoms can be reduced by using buprenorphine, sold as Suboxone.  This medication is prescribed by certified physicians and through some treatment centers on a short term basis to help those with opioid addiction to recover from their dependence. At Lasting Recovery, the Director of Medical Services, Michael Markopoulos, MD is able to help those suffering from opioid addiction to detox with Suboxone.

If you or a family member is abusing these highly addicting opioid medications, reach out and get help. No one thinks it will happen to them. There is no shame in being addicted.  The switch from pharmaceutical grade drugs to smoking, snorting or injecting heroin is the next step and sometimes a fatal one.

Lasting Recovery Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Addiction, located in San Diego, just north of Miramar Marine base, and University Town Center, in the Sorrento Mesa area, offers outpatient detoxification services for freedom from opioid, tranquillizer, sedative or alcohol dependence.
Don't put your life on hold any longer.

Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS

Women and Men with Alcohol Problems Begin their Healing In Sorrento Mesa

How can you tell if you have a problem with alcohol?  After all, it seems as if alcohol is served everywhere in La Jolla, Del Mar, Carmel Valley, Rancho Santa Fe, and Mission Hills, even at the spa and beauty salons.  Alcohol is served at parties to celebrate your local soccor, basketball, football, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Indian Princess activities. Co-workers and business associates in Sorrento Valley, La Jolla and Downtown San Diego,  attorneys throughout San Diego County, get together for dinner and drinks, create events such as wine clubs and wine tasting parties for fundraising or social events.  Opportunities to drink alcohol are scattered throughout communities in San Diego.

If you are questioning your drinking and if you work or do not work, are a parent or not, here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself:

• Do I want to go to the activity because alcohol is going to be served, or because it usually becomes a big drinking event for me?
• Do I have a rule for myself about drinking and driving with my children or their friends in the car?  Have I ever broken that rule, or thought about breaking it, just one time?
• Am I isolating with my alcohol or prescription drugs in my room, while my family is being together and doing homework, talking or watching TV?
• Am I isolating with my alcohol or drugs and not returning phone calls, avoiding friends and family because I would rather come home from work, get comfortable and drink my alcohol, alone, with no one bothering me, except the cat?
  
• Do I wonder if my alcohol and drugs are really more important to me than my partner/spouse/chidren, even though I hate to think like this?
• Do I hide bottles in trash cans that belong to my neighbor  or drop them off in different neighborhoods so I will not be discovered?
  
• Do I go to different liquor stores so the clerks will not ask me why I was just here buying alcohol yesterday, or earlier today?
• Do I usually defend my alcohol purchase by saying that I am getting ready for a big party - usually with myself, however I do not say that.
• Do I think I might have some physical pain this weekend, so I call the doctor and lie about my current level of pain so I can get a refill from the pharmacy for my favorite prescription medication?
• Have I ever gone to see doctors including than my primary or family physician, trying to get a prescription for tranquillizers or opiate pain medication, knowing I would drink alcohol with the pills? 
• Have I ever thouight maybe I was addicted to alcohol or to the prescription drugs?  

If you would like to do an online assessment, go to our home page and find alcohol and drug assessments. Or call our office at 858-453-4315.

Only you can decide if your drinking or drug use has moved from social use, to early or middle stage addiction.

Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS

Future Risks of Binge Drinking in San Diego County

Binge drinking for men is defined as 5 or more standard drinks and for women as 4 or more standard drinks on a single occasion.

A standard drink is a 12 oz. can of beer or cooler; 8-9 oz malt liquor; 5 oz. glass of table wine; or 1.5 oz shot of 80-proof spirits.

According to a recent, large survey 14% of the U.S. population binge drink at least once a week.

In comparison with the 60% of the U.S. population who never binge drink, in the next three years the 14% of drinkers who binge at least once a week are

1. 330% more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse
2. 280% more likely to suffer from some form of liver disease
3. 270% more likely to use tobacco
4. 270% more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol dependence
5. 230% more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for drug dependence
6. 180% more likely to lose their driver's license
7. 180% more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for tobacco dependence
8. 160% more likely to use other drugs
9. 130% more likely to experience a divorce or separation

The risks are even higher for the 3% of drinkers who binge 5 or more times per week.

Self-medication for Mood Disorders in San Diego

One of the reasons that people abuse alcohol and other drugs is to manage their emotional distress. This is known as the self-medication hypothesis. This hypothesis has been proposed as an explanation for the frequent co-occurence of anxiety and substance use disorders.

Recently, Bolton and his colleagues used data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a large (n=43,093, age 18 years and older) nationally representative survey of the U.S. population to test the self-medication hypothesis. They looked at the rates of self-medication among individuals with four types of mood disorder: dysthymia, a milder form of chronic depression; major depression; bipolar I, a mood disorder that includes bouts of mania and depression; and bipolar II, a mood disorder that includes bouts of hypomania, less severe than full-blown mania, as well as depression.

Overall, nearly one-quarter (24.1%) of individuals with any of the four mood disorders listed above used alcohol and drugs to manage their moods. Self-medication was even more prevalent among individuals with bipolar disorder. During depressive episodes, 41.0% of individuals with bipolar I disorder and 34.7% of those with bipolar II disorder engaged in self-medication with alcohol and other drugs of abuse.

Men were more than twice as likely as women and divorced and widowed individuals more likely than others to engage in self-medication. On the other hand, African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics and Pacific Islanders and individuals over the age of 44 years were less likely to self-medicate. Thus, younger, divorced, white males with mood disorders are the subgroup in the population most likely to engage in self-medication.

Bolton and his colleagues also found that individuals who self-medicated for mood disorders were more likely to experience co-occuring anxiety and personality disorders than those who did not self-medicate for mood disorders. Self-medicating men were more likely to suffer from panic attacks while self-medicating women were more likely to suffer from generalized anxiety disorder. Both genders of self-medicators were more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for dependent personality disorder.

Lasting Recovery as a dual diagnosis enhanced substance abuse treatment program can help individuals who suffer from mood and other mental health problems associated with their substance abuse/dependence.

Reference: Bolton JM, Robinson J, Sareen J. Self-medication of mood disorders with alcohol and drugs in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. J Affect Disord. 2008, Nov 10.

Arthur J. Farkas, Ph.D.

Are you questioning the downside to your alcohol or drug use

Today I received a call from a 37 year old man who was confused about his alcohol use. He drank alcohol only on the weekends, and he gladly reported that he did not have any legal problems, did not drink in the mornings and he believed his alcohol use was not interfering with his work. Then his wife told him to pack his bags and leave, the next time he decided he was going to drink.

His alcohol use, however was interfering with his family. He brought home alcohol every night, and extra for the weekend, as he usually got started drinking by noon. His evening drinking started as soon as he got home, and sometimes he started in the parking lot of the liquor store. He would think about the alcohol around noon, when he began counting the hours until he could get off work and go the liquor store. He would get so excited, as he imagined himself getting home and having a shot and some beers to relax. His wife nagged him about his routine behavior, as she saw he preferred his drinking more in the evening than spending time with her or his family.

He started drinking when he was age 16, and then he only drank on the weekends. When he came in, I gave him this information:


1. Addiction is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by continuous or periodic: impaired control over alcohol or drugs, preoccupation with drugs or alcohol, use of addictive substances despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial.

2. Primary refers to the nature of addiction as a disease entity in addition to and separate from other pathophysiologic states which may be associated with it. Primary suggests that addiction, is not a symptom of an underlying disease state.

3. Disease means an involuntary disability. It represents the sum of the abnormal phenomena displayed by a group of individuals. These phenomena are associated with a specified common set of characteristics by which these individuals differ from the norm, and which places them at a disadvantage.

Part II tomorrow.

Trying to stop drinking or using drugs is difficult for those people who are more progressed in their disease. Women generally have difficulty with alcohol and drug use sooner than men due to sex differences. If you need help and want to get back on the road of living your life safe and healthy, seek help now.

Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS

Have you had a Relapse in your attempts to quit drinking and using drugs in beautiful San Diego County?

Why does this happen?

I get calls daily from people who report they have attempted to quit drinking alcohol and using drugs, and have relapsed. Generally successful in many areas of their life, men and women trying to quit without help from a treatment professional can be frustrating and leave people feeling guilty and hopelessness.

What’s the answer to the residents of our local communities in Del Mar, Carmel Valley, La Jolla, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, or Scripps Ranch? Whether the mind altering chemicals such as alcohol or illegal drugs or prescription drugs such as tranquillizers, or opiate pain medication, the answer is to call a treatment professional now! Do not wait for the DUI, or the Possession charges; don’t wait for your spouse or children to leave because they say they can no longer cope with your addiction. Seek treatment before you loose your job, business or profession.

According to most well known researchers in the areas of alcohol and drug dependence, alcohol and drug use changes the brain, in fundamental and lasting ways. Does this mean you have brain damage? Some people do develop brain damage. Others are able to complete a process of treatment and learn how to care for their brain and quickly begin the healing process, repairing the brain within a couple of years.

Attendance in an Intensive Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Addiction program can teach you the tools to support your commitment to recovery, and both recognize a relapse trigger and change your thinking and behaving.

This is one of benefit of treatment…. To help you recognize the internal triggers (emotional states, thought processes and memories) and external triggers, those people, places and things that have part of your alcohol or drug dependence. For some people it means staying away from certain situations, for others it means learning another way to cognitively and emotionally respond to specific events, without reaching for a mind altering chemical such alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, meth, a tranquillizer such as Xanax or an opiate such as Vicodin or Oxycontin.

Take action now to seek care for your self, your health and your family!

To a Healthy 2009,

Judy Saalinger, Ph.D., MFT, CAS

Commentary - Evidence based Treatment

MSN Health and Fitness section recently had a report entitled Beyond 12 Steps.

The author, Mia Szalavits, poses the question, 'how do you find evidence-based addiction and alcoholism treatment for yourself or a loved one instead of, or in addition to,12 step approaches?'

I agree with this guide and am encouraged to see worthwhile information available in the media regarding treatment and care for people with alcohol and drug addictions. As an addiction specialist and licensed psychotherapist, I see the amazing results in our program with this combination of treatment approaches.

Here are the five dos and five do not's as the best guide to treatment:

1. Do start your search for treatment with full psychological or psychiatric evaluation from and M.D. psychiatrist or a Ph.D. psychologist.

2. Do look for therapists who use empirically supported or evidence-based treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy or motivational enhancement therapy.

3. Do make sure you feel safe and understood by the therapist or treatment approach you choose.

4. Do get as much social support as possible, and do not limit your search to traditional support groups.

5. Do consider the use of anti-addiction medications.

6. Do not accept treatment that is confrontational, humiliating or degrading.

7. Do not think a formal intervention, in which family members confront the addict about his or her problem is the only way to help.

8. Do not assume inpatient treatment is superior to outpatient treatment.

9. Do not use a facility for troubled teens that treats multiple disorders with a one-size-fits-all approach.

10. Do not give up.

This handy guide to locating treatment for yourself or a loved one is essential. Thanks MSN for putting this online!


Judy Saalinger, Co-Owner and Clinical Director
Lasting Recovery

Little Overall Change in Drug Usage, National Survey on Drug Use and Health

The annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health found little overall change in past-month use of illicit drugs in 2007, although use of cocaine and methamphetamine did decline, the Associated Press reported Sept. 4. Use of illicit drugs dipped from 8.3 percent of Americans ages 12 and older in 2006 to 8 percent in 2007. Adolescent drug use fell from 9.8 percent in 2006 to 9.5 percent in 2007, the survey found, but past-month use of illicit drugs among those ages 50-59 rose from 4.3 percent to 5 percent. Marijuana was by far the most popular illicit drug among all age groups.

The findings are based on interviews with more than 67,000 Americans. The federal Office of National Drug Control Policy credited the decline in cocaine and methamphetamine use to decreased supply of these drugs, resulting in higher prices and reduced purity. Critics disputed government claims of progress in fighting drug abuse, however, and a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report concluded that use of cocaine, marijuana and other illicit drugs is a bigger problem in the U.S. than in any of the other 16 nations studied.
"Use of marijuana and other drugs naturally fluctuates and if you look at long-term trends, current rates are smack in the middle of the range they've been in for decades," said Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project. "There is simply no evidence that current policies ... have made any difference."

"The use of drugs seems to be a feature of more affluent countries," noted the WHO report. "The U.S., which has been driving much of the world's drug research and drug policy agenda, stands out with higher levels of alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis, despite punitive illegal drug policies as well as a higher minimum legal alcohol drinking age than many comparable developed countries."