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NCSL Substance Abuse Snapshot

Matthew Gever, Staff Writer
Allison Colker, Editor

March 14, 2008

Emerging Issues

Lowering the Drinking Age
A number of states are discussing efforts to lower their drinking ages, the Chicago Tribune reports. In Vermont, the Legislature recently created a task force to study whether the age should be lowered, while in South Dakota and Missouri, voters are trying to collect signatures for similar ballot initiatives. A common reason give for this reconsideration is the rise in binge drinking on college campuses. Supporters hope that lowering the age would remove the allure associated with alcohol. “If you can't have something, you are drawn to it,” Indiana University researcher Ruth Engs told the Tribune. “And the pattern is that you overindulge, and do it really quickly, in order to get it done before you get caught.” Others point to the fact that individuals can serve in the armed forces at 18 but not drink, which has served as the impetus for bills in Wisconsin and South Carolina to lower the drinking age for service members. Opponents of lowering the age point to the sharp drop in deaths due to drunken driving after states uniformly applied 21 and over drinking laws in the 1970s. “If you lower the drinking age, people are going to die,” Jeffrey Levy of Mothers Against Drunk Driving told the Tribune. Other opposition will likely come from Congress, which denies federal highway money to states who do not maintain a 21 and over drinking law.

State-by-State View of Drug Abuse
A new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) details substance abuse and mental health problems on a state-by-state basis. The report is based on the 2005-2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and provides data based on 23 measures. Some examples include underage drinking, illicit drug use, major depressive episodes and tobacco use. To read the full report, click here.

Treatment Services

Elderly in Treatment
In order to accommodate a growing number of elderly admissions, more substance abuse treatment centers are developing programs specifically tailored to this population, the New York Times reports. Addicts age 50 and over now account for 10 percent of treatment admissions, a 25 percent increase from just four years earlier. SAMHSA predicts that 4.4 million older Americans will develop drug problems by 2020, up from 1.7 million in 2001. Alcohol is the primary substance of abuse among this demographic, although far more common among those 60 and older than those ages 50 to 59. Another unique factor among this demographic is a tendency for stubbornness and anger problems, according to the Times, requiring treatment programs to adapt new techniques such as cognitive-behavior therapy and anger management classes.  

PTSD and Substance Abuse
Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to have an existing substance abuse problem and have more severe effects, according to a study in the March issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. In the study, researchers examined 459 subjects in 14 addiction treatment centers. Just under 40 percent had alcohol dependence, 33 percent were drug dependent and the other 26 percent were dependent on both. Overall, 25 percent of participants had PTSD, with the numbers twice as high among the groups who were both drug and alcohol dependent than those who were just alcohol dependent. Substance abusers with PTSD could also expect worse outcomes, such as more family problems, less employment and more serious psychological symptoms. The researchers recommended that doctors examine substance abusing patients to see if PTSD could be an underlying factor.

Drug Specific Issues

Prescription Abuse on Campus
College students who used a prescription drug for a non-medical reason were more likely to have a problem with drug abuse, according to a study in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. In the study, researchers asked 3,639 college students about their use of four types of prescription drugs—opioids, stimulants, sleeping aids and anxiety medications. Twenty percent of students reported using one of these drugs without a prescription, while 60 percent reported using at least one with a prescription and for a medical purpose. The former group was more likely to have screened positive for a substance abuse problem than the medical-use only group. Additionally, the report found no difference in substance abuse problems between those who used the medications for medical use only and those who had never taken any of the listed substances.

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