According to statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), it is estimated that 40.3 million people in the United States had a substance use disorder in 2020. The numbers have only risen since then. In 2020, only about 7% of people actually got help and received treatment. And another study by the CDC, in 2023 the overdose death rate topped 112,000 in a span of 12 months.  

Almost 9% (2.2 million) of adolescents ages 12 to 17 in the U.S. suffer from a substance use disorder, based on data from 2022. In another study done by the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development they concluded that children exposed to cannabis prenatally were more likely to have mental health issues and also be predisposed to having a substance abuse disorder later in life.  Social determinants of health also play a big role in opioid use in adulthood.