A Look at the Numbers

Take a look at these infographics displaying addiction statistics throughout Massachusetts. The findings are truly astonishing.

Data collected by the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) report shows a total of 87,754 admits to drug and alcohol treatment centers in Massachusetts in 2010. The majority of the admissions were patients for heroin use.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the number of unintentional overdose deaths involving opioid pain relievers quadrupled during 1999-2007. They rose from 2,900 to 11,500.

The graph to the right is data collected from the 15 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. It shows the percentages of people ages 12 or older who have used drugs over a one-month period during the years 2002-2005. The graph shows how substance abuse rates vary across the different states.

To the left is data from the Health of Boston report presented by the Boston Public Health Commission showing the deaths resulting from substance abuse in Boston neighborhoods.

When you break down statistics of this nature into graphs and maps such as these, it is much easier to comprehend the extent to which addiction has entrenched American society. When you look at the rates of substance abuse mortality in each of the Boston neighborhoods, it shows that addiction is ramped throughout the city. There is no addiction trend in relation to poorer or wealthier areas. From Charlestown to Hyde Park to North Dorchester, the addiction rates go up or down. When comparing Boston to other major U.S. cities, however, Boston's addiction rates almost double the amount of other cities. Addiction is clearly a major issue facing the city of Boston, as well as the state of Massachusetts.