It is recognised that veterans are more likely to experience a range of mental health conditions such as anxiety, major depression, substance use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Many individuals use substances as a coping strategy for dealing with the stress and trauma they have experienced.

In a recent study, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, researchers have analysed substance use disorder prevalence and treatment among veterans. 

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism collected information from 36,301 United States civilian adults...

Abstract

Objective: This report identifies the specific drugs involved most frequently in drug overdose deaths in the United States from 2011 through 2016.

Methods: Record-level data from the 2011–2016 National Vital Statistics System–Mortality files were linked to electronic files containing literal text information from death certificates. Drug overdose deaths were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision underlying causeof-death codes X40–X44, X60–X64, X85, and Y10–Y14. Drug mentions were identified by searching the literal text in three fields of the...

Education plays a critical role in preventing substance abuse. Drugs of Abuse, A DEA Resource Guide, is designed to be a reliable resource on the most commonly abused and misused drugs in the United States. This comprehensive guide provides important information about the harms and consequences of drug use by describing a drug’s effects on the body and mind, overdose potential, origin, legal status, and other key facts.

Drugs of Abuse also offers a list of additional drug education and prevention resources, including the DEA websites: www.DEA.gov; www.JustThinkTwice.com, aimed at teenagers...

Drug use continues to represent a significant problem in the Americas, and one that challenges policy makers at the highest levels. The Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (known by its Spanish language acronym, CICAD), of the Organization of American States (OAS), serves as the preeminent Western Hemisphere forum for policy discussion and hemispheric cooperation on drugs. Along with other responsibilities, the Executive Secretariat of CICAD supports OAS member states by providing an evidence-based picture of the drug problem, both nationally and at the hemispheric level, so that...