Government report Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

Cited in 3 Likelier entries (3 risks, 0 decisions).

Used in 3 entries

For each citing entry, the verbatim excerpt and Likelier's calculation notes (how the source's number was converted to the lifetime-probability framing) are shown below. Click through to read the full claim ledger.

[1] Alcohol use disorder Risk

Statistic

13.9 million Americans aged 12 or older had alcohol use disorder in the past year in 2024

“"In 2024, 13.9 million people aged 12 or older had a past year alcohol use disorder, representing approximately 5 percent of the population aged 12 or older. Marijuana use disorder was the most common drug use disorder (20.6 million), followed by opioid use disorder (4.8 million)."”
Calculation notes
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SAMHSA 2024 NSDUH past-year AUD figure (13.9M / ~260M US adults ≈ 5.3%) is used as a cross-validation anchor, not as the primary prevalence estimate. The lower 12-month figure relative to NESARC-III (13.9% vs 5.3%) reflects instrument differences: NSDUH uses a self-report questionnaire while NESARC-III used a full structured diagnostic interview, which produces systematically higher prevalence estimates. Both sources converge on the same conclusion: AUD is the most prevalent substance use disorder in the US.
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Independence note: SAMHSA NSDUH is conducted by an independent contractor (RTI International) and uses a different sampling and assessment methodology than NESARC-III, providing a genuinely independent cross-check on the scale of the disorder.

Source date: 2025-07-14 · Accessed: 2026-05-04

[2] Cannabis use disorder Risk

Statistic: 20.6 million people aged 12 or older had past-year cannabis use disorder in 2024, making it the most common drug use disorder in the US

“"Marijuana use disorder was the most common drug use disorder (20.6 million), followed by opioid use disorder (4.8 million) and central nervous system stimulant use disorder (4.3 million). In 2024, 44.3 million individuals reported marijuana use in the past month."”

Calculation notes

SAMHSA 2024 NSDUH: 20.6M past-year CUD / ~260M US adults ≈ 7.9% past-year CUD prevalence. This figure is notably higher than the NESARC-III 2.5% 12-month estimate, reflecting both the increase in cannabis use since 2012-2013 and instrument differences between NSDUH and NESARC. It is used here as a cross-validation anchor showing that post-legalization cannabis use disorder rates are higher than the NESARC-III figures, supporting the upper end of the uncertainty range. The 6.3% lifetime estimate from 2012-2013 is almost certainly an undercount for today's adult cohort.

Source date: 2025-07-14 · Accessed: 2026-05-04

[3] Opioid addiction Risk

Statistic

4.8 million Americans aged 12 or older had opioid use disorder in the past year in 2024 (1.7% of that population).

“"In 2024, 4.8 million people aged 12 or older had a past year opioid use disorder, representing 1.7 percent of the population aged 12 or older."”
Calculation notes
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The SAMHSA 4.8M annual OUD prevalence provides a population-level cross-check. 4.8M / 260M US adults ≈ 1.85% current-year OUD prevalence. This figure captures all opioid sources (prescription and illicit), not just surgical pathways. It is used as a plausibility anchor for the normalized lifetime estimate rather than the primary calculation input.
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Source date: 2025-07-14 · Accessed: 2026-04-24