News Release

Recovery Month Will Highlight Success of Drug Treatment

Report Shows Many Need Treatment for Substance Abuse 

Recovery Month spotlights the need for alcohol and drug abuse treatment and recovery, and honors both those in recovery and treatment providers.

The report, “State Estimates of Persons Needing But Not Receiving Substance Abuse Treatment”, found that New Mexico had the highest percentage, 3.5 percent, of its population aged 12 or older who needed but did not receive treatment for an illicit drug use problem in 2002, while Wisconsin, at 2.2 percent, had the lowest percentage.  Nebraska had the highest percentage, 9.6 percent of population aged 12 or older who needed but did not receive treatment for an alcohol problem, while West Virginia had the lowest percentage, 5.6 percent.

“We are working in partnership with all of the States to build substance abuse treatment capacity through increased funding in federal block and discretionary grants, including the new Access to Recovery Program announced by President Bush in March 2004,” SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie said.  “The fear and stigma surrounding substance abuse treatment is a major reason why people do not seek help.  Fortunately, everyone can do something to help reduce stigma.  Recovery Month provides an opportunity to reduce stigma through education and celebrate the successes of people in recovery.”

The materials for this year’s Recovery Month, “Join the Voices for Recovery….Now!”, include SAMHSA’s Recovery Month planning kit, TV and radio public service announcements and other web-based and print materials.  These materials were developed by and will be used by more than 75 organizations and coalitions within and outside the alcohol and drug addiction treatment field.  The Recovery Month kit contains information on each of the target audiences identified by the national planning groups; a full section on materials that can be adapted by each participating community; and multiple lists of alcohol and drug addiction treatment agency and program resources. 

The TV and radio public service announcements, produced in both English and Spanish, aim to dispel negative characterizations about individuals who have achieved sobriety and are now in recovery, as well provide messages for those who are in need of recovery and would like to find addiction treatment services. 

The Report on treatment need is based on data from SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which asked questions to determine if people needed treatment for drug or alcohol abuse.  The report deals with persons who needed and received treatment at drug or alcohol rehabilitation facilities, inpatient or outpatient; hospital inpatient units; or mental health centers.  It does not include treatment at an emergency room, private doctor’s office, self-help group, prison or jail, or by a hospital as an outpatient.

The study found that 6.3 million persons needed but did not receive treatment for an illicit drug problem and 17 million persons needed but did not receive treatment for an alcohol problem.  The 10 states with the highest rates of needing but not receiving treatment for a drug  problem were New Mexico, Arizona, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, Montana Vermont, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia.

Wisconsin had the lowest percentage of persons in need of drug treatment in 2002, 2.2 percent of its population.  Other states in the lowest fifth were Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Illinois, Hawaii, Alabama, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

California was not in the top tier of states with the highest percentage of population needing treatment, but it had the largest total number of persons 12 and older who needed but did not receive treatment for an illicit drug problem.  California had 819,000 people in this category in 2002, about 13 percent of the total number of persons in need in the nation.  Similarly, California, had the largest number of persons in need of treatment for an alcohol problem, approximately 2 million persons, which is over 11 percent of the total number nationally who needed but did not receive treatment for an alcohol problem.

The new data show that Nebraska had the highest percentage, 9.6 percent of its population aged 12 and older, in need of treatment for an alcohol problem.  Other states in the top tier for percent of population in need of treatment for alcohol problems included South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Arizona, the District of Columbia, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

West Virginia had the lowest percent of population age 12 and older, 5.6 percent, who needed but did not receive treatment for an alcohol problem.  Other states in the lowest fifth included Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maine, Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Oregon.

The report on state estimates of persons needing but not receiving substance abuse treatment is available at www.oas.samhsa.gov.  Recovery Month materials are available on the web at www.recoverymonth.gov.  This site contains a virtual kit; a series of one-hour webcasts on important topics related to alcohol and drug addiction and people in recovery from this disease; a section where communities can lists events and activities related to recovery issues and Recovery Month; and a number of other areas of interest.

SAMHSA, a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the lead federal agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment and mental health services in the United States.

 

This page was last updated on 14 June, 2004
SAMHSA is an Agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services