From 1998 through 2003, there were at least 455 deaths in Bucks County directly attributable to drugs and alcohol – an average of more than 6 per month!

176 of those deaths were during the last 18 months of that period – an average of more than 10 per month!

Kids who learn the dangers of drugs are 36% less likely to smoke Marijuana, 50% less likely to use inhalants, 56% less likely to use Cocaine, and 65% less likely to use LSD!

1 in 6 Americans will struggle with addiction to either alcohol or illicit drugs.

4 out of 10 families in the United States directly suffer the effects of addiction.

1 out of every 4 deaths in America is caused by the use of addictive substances – tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs.

The number one preventable health problem in America and in other developed countries is addiction.

One conservative estimate of the cost of drug abuse to society is 41 billion dollars a year – but the cost in human suffering is beyond measure!

80 percent of the people incarcerated or in the criminal justice system have substance abuse problems.

50 percent of arrestees were high at the time of their arrest.

In 2000, the estimated number of incarcerations due to drug abuse was 648,544.

30 percent of burglaries and over 15 percent of homicides are directly attributed to drug abuse.

The problem of drug crime is not just the illegality of drugs, but drug use itself. Six times as many homicides are committed by people under the influence of drugs as by those who are looking for money to buy drugs.

The prison costs attributed to drug abuse in 1996 were over11 million dollars. Experts estimate a growth of 6 percent every year since then.

Businesses spend between $7,000 and $11,000 more to employ a drug-using employee than a drug-free employee.

Employees who use drugs utilize 300 percent more medical benefits than non- users and are absent 1.5 times more often.

In 1994, New York City spent 774 million dollars on foster care – 77 percent of that was spent on care for children of substance-abusing parents.

After the Netherlands legalized marijuana use for adults, the usage rate for 18 to 20 year olds nearly tripled from 15 to 44 percent.

Marijuana users are four times more likely to commit violent acts and five times more likely to steal as non- marijuana users.

Pot users are two to five times more likely to go on to use harder drugs.

Currently, 60 percent of teenagers in drug treatment are seeking help for their Marijuana addiction.

Marijuana smokers are 8 times more likely to use Cocaine and 15 times more likely to use Heroin.

Marijuana has 3 to 5 times more THC (the psycho- active ingredient) in it than it had 10 years ago.

In 2003, one out of every six high school seniors admitted to driving under the influence of Marijuana.

In 1999, the total number of people living with AIDS attributable to drug abuse was nearly 110,000.

80 percent of the people hurt in on the job accidents involving marijuana are the co-workers of the users – not the users themselves.

Illegal clan labs that manufacture meth produce six to ten pounds of toxic waste for every one pound of meth.

Many ecstasy dealers sell fake pills. Some have been caught selling hormone replacement tablets as ecstasy.

The ecstasy trade has become so profitable that organized crime and gangs are taking over the ecstasy trade.

In 2000, 8.3% of 12th graders reported that they had used Ecstasy at least once in the past year, up from 5.6% in 1999 and 3.6% in 1998.

Ecstasy often results in severe dehydration and heat stroke in the user, since it “short-circuits” the body’s temperature signals to the brain.

Ecstasy can heat your body up to temperatures as high as 117 degrees.

Hash dealers will use filler to mix with the marijuana plant resin to extend their profits. A commonly used filler in some countries is goat dung.

Marijuana dealers will lace their drug with a highly addictive drug like crack or PCP to get their users to come back for more.

Marijuana has 50 percent more tar than tobacco and contains more than 400 chemicals.

Drugs like heroin are smuggled into the country often by filling a balloon with the drug, swallowing it and then recovering it from excrement after it comes out.

Many dealers don’t even use the drugs they sell – they stay straight so they can concentrate on making money off their addicts.

Two ingredients of GHB are nail polish remover and drain cleaner

When people overdose on GHB, they start drooling on themselves, pass out and lose muscle control – followed by vomiting and a coma.

Predator drugs or date-rape drugs aren’t only used by strangers – many have been victimized by dates or friends at parties and on job interviews.

Most anabolic steroid users are male.

Among male students, past year use of steroids was reported by 2.2 percent of 8 th graders, 2.8 percent of 10 th graders and 2.5 percent of 12 th graders.

Steroid use by tenth graders increased from 1.7 percent in 1999 to 2.2 percent in 2000.

Steroids can make you hostile and angry for no reason. There are recorded cases of murder attributed to intense anger from steroid use.

Roid rages are uncontrolled outbursts of anger, frustration or combativeness as a result of using anabolic steroids.

Side effects of steroid use for men – baldness, development of breasts and impotence. Side effects for women – facial hair, deep voice and breast reduction.

The family medicine cabinet can be “pharmed” by kids looking for drugs – they combine them in a bowl and take turns taking them to see what happens.

Studies show that abuse of over- the-counter drugs is most common among 12 to 17 year olds and that adolescents are 18 times more likely to die from an OTC overdose than from an illicit drug overdose.

In 2002, 4% of 12 th graders reported using Oxycontin for non-medical purposes and 9.6% reported non-medical use of Vicodin.