Marker check · 2 questions
Drugs & substances
Unintentional drug overdose is the single leading cause of death for US adults under 45 — ahead of car crashes and suicide — driven overwhelmingly by opioids and fentanyl-contaminated supply. Risk is not confined to daily use: a large share of overdose deaths involve occasional users, because potency is unpredictable. A substance use disorder is the most lethal condition in all of mental health — roughly 9–24 years of life lost, through overdose, liver disease, cancer, and accidents. Prescription opioids and sedatives (especially combined with alcohol) carry real overdose and fall risk even taken close to as directed. If you or someone near you uses, carrying naloxone is the seatbelt of this marker.
The research
- CDC WONDER 2023 — unintentional overdose, leading cause of death at 18–45
- Chesney et al., World Psychiatry 2014 — substance use disorders ≈ −9–24y
- Sordo et al., BMJ 2017 — opioid agonist treatment ≈ −50% mortality
- Degenhardt et al., Lancet 2019 — global burden of opioid dependence
- Dowell et al., MMWR 2022 — prescription opioid safety (CDC guideline)
1. Do you use recreational drugs?
Not answered2. Do you take prescription opioids or sedatives?
Not answered