Opioids
Opioids are a class of drugs that are used to reduce pain. They include legal substances such as prescription pain relievers received from a physician and illegal substances such as heroin or illicitly manufactured fentanyl. All opioids are chemically similar and the brain does not distinguish between legal and illegal opioids. By binding to special opioid receptors on nerve cells in the brain and body, opioids block pain signals and are responsible for the release of large amounts of dopamine. The release of dopamine has a strong reinforcing effect and is often experienced as “euphoria” and a “sense of wellbeing” in users.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provides prevalence estimates for past year misuse of prescription pain relievers for persons 12 years of age or older. Estimates are available for Indiana and the U.S., and can be viewed for the entire population or for specific age groups.
In 2015, the NSDUH made changes to their methodology for collecting information on prescription pain killer use therefore data from 2016 onward will not be comparable to data from previous years.
In 2015, the NSDUH made changes to their methodology for collecting information on prescription pain killer use therefore data from 2016 onward will not be comparable to data from previous years.
The NSDUH started providing state-level estimates on heroin use in 2015 and therefore, trend data are as yet not available.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) provides biannual estimates of the percentage of high school students in the 9th through 12th grade who have ever used heroin in their lifetime. Estimates can be viewed by gender, race, and grade level for Indiana and the U.S. Data for Indiana are not available for 2011.
Information on persons entering substance abuse treatment related to the use of various opioids is available from the Treatment Episode Data System (TEDS). The TEDS provides the number of persons entering substance use treatment, the drugs they are using at the time of admission, the primary drug for which they are seeking treatment, as well as basic demographic information. TEDS data are available for both Indiana and the U.S.; however, TEDS data for Indiana do not reflect all persons in substance abuse treatment but only those in treatment at facilities that receive funds from the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addictions. TEDS data for the use of opiates/synthetic drugs (i.e., prescription opioids), heroin, and use of any opioid (i.e., heroin, opiates/synthetics, nonprescription methadone) can be viewed by age, race, and gender. The percent of treatment admissions related to specific opioids across the state for the past 10 years and trend data are available for each of Indiana’s 92 counties.
Prescription Opioid Use
The following visualizations provide information on individuals who reported using prescription opioids/synthetic narcotics at the time of their admission to substance abuse treatment:
Prescription Opioids - Primary Substance
The following visualizations provide information on individuals entering substance abuse treatment primarily for the use of prescription opioids/synthetic narcotic products:
Heroin Use
The following visualizations provide information on individuals who reported using heroin at the time of their admission to substance abuse treatment:
Heroin - Primary Substance
The following visualizations provide information on individuals entering substance abuse treatment primarily for the use of heroin:
Use of Any Opioid
The following visualizations provide information on individuals who reported using any type of opioid (heroin, opiates/synthetics, non-prescription methadone) at the time of their admission to substance abuse treatment:
Any Opioid - Primary Substance
The following visualizations provide information on individuals entering substance abuse treatment primarily for the use of an opioid (heroin, opiates/synthetics, non-prescription methadone):
Data on legal consequences related to heroin use are available through the Uniform Crime Reporting system (UCR) maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It should be noted that data related to heroin arrests are combined with those related to cocaine. UCR data related to cocaine/heroin contains arrests for the possession of cocaine/heroin and for the sale of cocaine/heroin. Data on the rate of cocaine/heroin-related arrests for each offense for the past 9 years are available for Indiana and the U.S. as well as for Indiana counties. The map provides information on the rate of each cocaine/heroin-related offense throughout the state for the past 9 years. Trend data for each county are also available.