Scientific American reported some positive news last week from the front lines of the heroin crisis: Half as many people tried heroin for the first time in 2017 as in 2016. That’s according to data released Friday from the government’s annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
“This is what we were hoping for,” said Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, who directs the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “It tells us that we are getting the word out to the American people of the risks of heroin,” especially when the drug is tainted with additional powerful opioids, fentanyl or carfentanil.
The survey found that marijuana use, however, increased in 2017, especially among pregnant women and young adults. McCance-Katz said the increase was likely linked to the growing number of states that have legalized marijuana and the misperception that marijuana is harmless.
But there’s still work to do to control the epidemic of drug use and abuse.
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