Underlying Genetic Factors Predispose Many to Substance Dependence or Tolerance

The Burden of Addiction on our Criminal Justice System

In 2005, an estimated 19 million Americans used illicit drugs. The impact of this pandemic is felt not only by individuals and their families, but by society as well. Addiction costs our society and economy billions of dollars each year, in health care costs, property damage, and lost productivity. It also costs lives, and causes immense amounts of grief and pain. In 1993, more than one-quarter of the inmates in State and Federal prisons were incarcerated for drug offenses (234,600), and prisoners serving drug sentences were the largest single group (60 percent) in Federal prisons.

Watch a video new clip on a pilot of Salugen's anti-craving technology as an alternative sentencing program in Clark County, Nevade (Las Vegas).



Addiction in the Workplace

A study examined alcohol and licit and illicit drug use in a highly educated workforce. A comprehensive health survey of a 10% random sample of a workforce (n = 8,567) yielded a 60% response rate (n = 504) after accounting for 15 undeliverable surveys. Many respondents reported past-year use of alcohol (87%). Thirteen percent of respondents consumed three or more drinks daily; 15% were binge drinkers. Twelve percent of the workforce was assessed as having a high likelihood of lifetime alcohol dependence; 5% of respondents met criteria for current problem drinking.

Overall, 42% reported using mood-altering prescription drugs (analgesics, antidepressants, sedatives, or tranquilizers). Eleven percent reported using illicit drugs (cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, or marijuana) in the past year. Significant relationships were found between gender, age, ethnicity, and occupation with some measures of alcohol consumption and use of mood-altering drugs. These results indicate prevention and early intervention programs need to address use of mood-altering substances (including alcohol and pain medications) in highly educated workforces (Matano et al. (2002)).

The Epidemic of Prescription Drug Abuse

The nonmedical use or abuse of prescription drugs is a serious and growing public health problem. Patients suffering from injuries are most vulnerable to prescription drug abuse because they are prescribed high doses to treat their injury, followed by the elderly because they take more medications than younger persons. Most people take prescription medications responsibly; however, an estimated 48 million people (ages 12 and older) have used prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons in their lifetimes. This represents approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population.

Also alarming is the fact that the 2004 National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NIDA's) Monitoring the Future survey of 8th, 10th, and 12th-graders found that 9.3 percent of 12th-graders reported using Vicodin without a prescription in the past year, and 5.0 percent reported using OxyContin-making these medications among the most commonly abused prescription drugs by adolescents.

Generally taken with a physician's prescription, there is a perception that these centrally-acting medications are a more acceptable form of addiction. The abuse of certain prescription drugs-opioids, central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and stimulants can alter the brain's activity and lead to addiction. When a patient is genetically-predisposed to addiction, the consumption of a prescription pain killer may trigger their susceptibility. A patient with genetic risk factors may be more likely to develop a tolerance to the medication or abuse the medication. Considering that the National Institutes of Health suggest that 60-70% of addictions may be influenced by genetic factors, it is critical to know this genetic information before taking high doses of these medications.