An estimated 2 million Americans will suffer from addiction to prescription opioids or illegal opioids in 2018. About two thirds of deadly drug overdoses in 2016 were due to opioids and 75 percent of drug overdoses among 15-24 year olds were related to opioids.
Prevention is the best hope of slowing the trend.
Stop Youth Opioid Abuse is a multi-channel effort from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the Ad Council, and the Truth Initiative that focuses on preventing and reducing the misuse of opioids among youth and young adults. The Council on Recovery supports these national efforts with locally-sourced services for helping young people survive the opioid epidemic.