Lawson, Sarah Introduction to Addictions and Substance Use Grand Canyon University April 11, 2018

Introduction Substance abuse is a pervasive problem in the United Statescutting across racial, socioeconomic, geographic and generational lines.1 Its effects are straining the resources of the health care and judicial systems, and delivering a regular dose of disturbing headlines. Drug deaths now outnumber traffic-related deaths in the U.S. for the first time since the government started tracking drug-induced deaths in 1979.2 The number of U.S. babies born with opiate drug withdrawal has tripled in the past decade.3 There are approximately 80,000 deaths attributed to excessive alcohol use each year in the United States, with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention...