Opioid Abuse
According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, with 52,404 lethal drug overdoses in 2015.
The United States has been placed in an opioid epidemic, with more than 20,000 overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers and 12,990 overdoses on heroin in 2015. It is estimated that 23% of individuals who use heroin develop an opioid addiction. Studies show that student athletes may be at a higher risk for prescription abuse.
NATA Consensus Statements
Managing Prescriptions and Non-Prescription Medication in the Athletic Training Facility, 2009
Other Resources
- ASAM Opioid Addiction Fact and Figures, 2016
- Narconon: Survey says HS Athletes More at Risk for Prescription Abuse Problems
- DrugRehab.com: Substance Abuse and Professional Sports
- Drug Abuse in Athletes, Scholarly Article, 2014
- Sports Illustrated: “How Painkillers are Turning Youth Athletes into Heroin Addicts”
- Opioid Misuse Prevention Student Athlete Packets
- NCAA: Substance Use and Abuse
- Heroin Awareness Committee Resources List, 2017 (pdf)
- Healing Addictions in Our Community Webpage