When families are dealing with a loved one who is locked into addiction they naturally want to know how long the insanity is going to last before the person decides to get help. The truth is, some alcoholics and addicts never do seek help, but for those who do, years can go by before they decide a change is needed.On average, adults take 15.6 years from first use to seeking treatment, but the time varies greatly depending on the drug of choice.
Length of an Addiction
The new Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) report, "Length of Time from First Use to Adult Treatment Admission," tracked 669,000 adults who were admitted to substance abuse treatment programs in the past year.
The study found that the type of substance abused and demographic factors can vary the time between first use and first treatment, but in almost all cases, several years pass before treatment is sought.
For example, the average time between first use of a substance and first treatment for males is 16.5 years, but for females it is 13.8 years. The average time from first use to treatment for Asian Americans is 13.3 years, but the average for Native Americans is 17.4 years, the study showed.
Average Addiction Times
The biggest differences were due to the type of substance used. The following elapsed times were reported for these drugs of choice:
- Alcohol: 20.2 years
- Cocaine: 14.5 years
- Heroin: 12.3 years
- Stimulants: 11.9 years
- Marijuana: 11.9 years
- Prescription Drugs: 7.8 years
These are the average times between first use and first substance abuse treatment for males:
- Alcohol: 20.7 years
- Cocaine: 12.0 years
- Heroin: 15.7 years
- Stimulants: 13.4 years
- Marijuana: 13.0 years
Prescription Drugs: 7.9 years
The elapsed time from first primary use and first treatment for females is less than males:
- Alcohol: 19.1 years
- Cocaine: 11.5 years
- Heroin: 12.6 years
- Stimulants: 10.0 years
- Marijuana: 10.6 years
Prescription Drugs: 7.8 years
Hyde said prevention and intervention programs that could cut short the time before people seek treatment would save addicts and their families years of needless suffering.
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She said it could be “the next crack baby epidemic.” ???? It already is!!!! It has been a problem for several years now. It is a direct result of the Roxy Epidemic here in Florida. The state of Fl ordered my wife to our local methadone clinic a couple of years ago because she was in a drug intervention court program when we found out she was pregnant. It was a horrible experience to visit our baby girl in the NICU for the first 3 weeks of her life and then slowly wean her off over the next 7 months. Most of the babies in the ICU were there because of being born addicted to opiates. I think that it is sad that our court system could play a part in something like this. The state needs to fight this problem through education and awareness and to start teaching kids at a very early age about the dangers of opiates and prescription drugs. Kids today do not drink and smoke a little pot any more. They start off using with opiates. Very very sad to see teenagers with serious opiate habits. Also our daughter is 18 months now and shows absolutely no signs of any lingering effects. No behavior or learning problems. I wish that the state would educate the public about the true dangers of opiate abuse so that people would not have to go through what we did.
Steven Gerard
Pharmaspider web
How about some stats on averages of how long it takes AFTER their first treatment to achieve long-term sobriety? We all know that relapse is “part of it,” but that is no comfort to families who thought that all they had to do was get the person to realize they need help and go check themselves in somewhere. It’s even scarier for these folks once the legal system is involved. I realize that, like the first sentence says, some addicts never get there in this lifetime. Still, to publish stats from first use to first treatment as if that means “last use” is misleading and appears self-serving on the part of SAMHSA.