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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA) provides free, ready access to the most current and comprehensive national data on substance abuse and mental health. The archive includes:

* 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health -- statistics on the prevalence, incidence, and correlates of alcohol and drug use,

* 2007 Monitoring the Future -- quantifies the direction and rate of change occurring over time regarding relationships and trends among youth in school.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new Youth Violence National and State Statistics at a Glance provides statistics on youth homicide and non-fatal assault-related injury rates.

Impact of substance abuse on state budget

A new report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University shows that state governments spend, on average, 15 percent of their entire budgets on substance abuse and addiction and its consequences. The report indicates that for every dollar spent on the problem, 94 cents goes to deal with the consequences in public programs such as health care, criminal justice, education, child welfare, and mental health. Only about 2 cents go to prevention, treatment and research to reduce the problem, according to the report.

Here is the breakdown CASA did about substance abuse related spending in Washington. To view the full report, click here.

Sustance abuse and suicide prevention

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released a new white paper focusing on the current state of knowledge about the interrelationship between substance abuse and suicide. Entitled “Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention: Evidence & Implications”, the document stresses substance abuse as a risk-factor for suicide and suicide attempts and the importance of continued learning about this connection to help prevent suicidal behavior.