CT Clearinghouse

Addiction

Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted person’s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs. These brain changes can be persistent, which is why drug addiction is considered a "relapsing" disease—people in recovery from drug use disorders are at increased risk for returning to drug use even after years of not taking the drug.

It's common for a person to relapse, but relapse doesn't mean that treatment doesn’t work. As with other chronic health conditions, treatment should be ongoing and adjusted based on patient response. Treatment plans need to be reviewed often and modified to fit the patient’s changing needs.

In Connecticut, help is available by calling 1-800-563-4086. 
In the United States, call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit https://findtreatment.gov/    

Source: NIDA. 2018, June 6. Understanding Drug Use and Addiction DrugFacts. Retrieved from https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/understanding-drug-use-addiction on July 12, 2024.

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Research & Statistics

  • Connecticut Data Collaborative

    Users may search by location or topic. Topic selections include: Civic vitality, Demographics, Economy, Health, Education, Housing, and Safety. The Health category includes data sets on mental health, treatment admissions, substance use, mortality, and tobacco use.

  • Data and Dissemination - SAMHSA

    Find data and reports on mental health, substance use treatment, and drug use from sources that include: the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS), National Mental Health Services Survey (NMHSS), and more.

  • NIDA Notes This publication covers drug abuse research in the areas of treatment and prevention, epidemiology, neuroscience, behavioral science, health services, and AIDS. The publication reports on research; identifies resources; and promotes communication among clinicians, researchers, administrators, policymakers, and the public.
  • PubMed

    PubMed comprises more than 20 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

  • Research Data, Measures & Resources - NIDA

    Links to various NIDA publications, databases, surveillance, prevention & treatment resources, and more.

  • The Researched Abuse, Diversion and Addiction-Related Surveillance (RADARS®) System

    The Researched Abuse, Diversion and Addiction-Related Surveillance (RADARS®) System is a prescription drug abuse, misuse and diversion surveillance system that collects timely product-and geographically-specific data.

  • University of Washington - ADAI Bibliographies on Substance Abuse

    The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI) Library at the University of Washington provides a list of bibliographies on substance abuse. The bibliographies include citations to journal articles, books, book chapters, and miscellaneous reports and unpublished documents.

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