Experimentation: The average age for first-time drug or alcohol use is just 13.5 years. Early use can interfere with brain development and dramatically increase the risk of addiction. This is particularly true for high-potency marijuana products. 

Addiction and mental illness are not failures of character or willpower. These health conditions are progressive, destructive conditions that can rob people of their best selves and disrupt the most important relationships. No one chooses to become addicted or to live with a severe or debilitating mental illness.

soft tissue injuries increased by 8.1%, and lacerations and contusions increased by 8.3%. It is unclear whether the reduced pharmacy and medical costs associated with less complicated medical cases can compensate for the 15% increase in claims.

We now understand that one in five adults in the U.S. will experience a diagnosable mental health condition in a typical year. These may range from the acute experience of grief after the loss of a loved one to chronic conditions such as anxiety, depression, or substance use disorders. Substance use disorders give rise to a host of mental health challenges for the person with the substance use disorder and the nearly 19 million children raised in their homes.

In 2022, the last full year for which numbers are available, 13,524 people were killed in alcohol-impaired traffic incidents. It is worth noting that the blood alcohol level of nearly 70% of the drivers in those accidents was twice the drunk driving limit of .08.