Statistics on Opioid Use Disorder in Austin, Texas
The opioid crisis has been one of the biggest challenges the United States has ever faced. It's not only a drug abuse problem, it's become a full blown public health crisis.
Part of the issue has been easy access to opioids. For many years prescription opioids were readily prescribed for chronic pain, acute pain and severe pain. These medications affect opioid receptors allowing them to dull pain signals. They are highly effective for these purposes, but if they aren’t taken as directed or are taken when a person isn’t experiencing pain prescription opioids are like other forms of the drug and produce a euphoric high effect.
Many people’s addictions begin by misusing prescription opioids, which can quickly lead to dependency. Some people don’t misuse opioids intentionally at first, but the potential consequences are still the same. With opioids addiction can easily happen to anyone. Although there are genetic factors at play with addiction, there’s no way of knowing who will form an opioid addiction.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Opioids come in different forms including prescription pain relievers, heroin and fentanyl. Synthetic chemicals in fentanyl are 50 times stronger than heroin.
- One in four Texans knows someone who has experienced an opioid overdose or have themselves overdosed from opioids.
- Opioid overdoses and overdose deaths are at a record high in Travis County with 202 deaths from fentanyl alone in 2023.
- The rate of opioid overdose deaths increased across all age groups between 2020 and 2022, with the exception of 60-69 year olds, which decreased from 2021 to 2022.
- Numerous state programs have been initiated to reduce opioid misuse and addiction while aiding recovery. Changes within the criminal justice system have also been made to specifically dissuade people from distributing and using opioids.
Statistics on Opioid Addiction in Austin and the State of Texas
While the rate of opioid misuse in Texas is low compared to other drugs, the rate of addiction among users is extremely high. What’s just as troubling is that opioid related emergency department visits have increased among all age groups in recent years, suggesting the problem is getting worse.
In 2021 and 2022, 3.43% of Texans 18+ years old admitted to misusing opioids in the National Survey of Drug Use and Health. In contrast, 48.91% stated they had consumed alcohol within the month preceding the survey. However, when looking at use disorder statistics there was a distinct change. Of Texans that were 18 or older 1.98% had opioid use disorder and 11.08% had alcohol use disorder. The data shows that the incidence of developing an addiction is much higher with opioids. Well over half of people who use opioids in Texas developed an addiction, but fewer than a quarter of people who consumed alcohol became addicted.
Opioid Overdose Statistics
One of the most startling opioid statistics is that 1 out of 4 Texans has either overdosed from opioid use or knows someone who has. The Texas Department of State Health Services has determined that Travis County has the highest incidence of opioid overdoses in the state. In 2023, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services received an average of 108 calls a month for opioid overdoses.
Drug overdose deaths paint an even more grim picture in relation to opioid use. Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, opioid overdoses account for 75% of all drug overdose deaths in the country, and that trend holds true in Travis County. Data from the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office found that of the 417 overdose deaths in 2022, 266 were opioid related with 245 being caused by fentanyl. Heroin was the cause for 33 opioid related fatal overdoses, and Hydrocodone/ Oxycodone/ Hydromorphone/ Oxymorphone caused 16 opioid related fatal overdoses.
The average age for an opioid overdose death in Travis County during 2022 was 37 years old. However, the age group that had the highest rate of fatal opioid overdoses is 50-59 year olds. The rate of fatal opioid overdoses increased for every age group year-over-year between 2020 and 2022 except for 60-69 year olds which saw a decrease between 2021 and 2022.
When fatal opioid overdoses are broken down by sex, men are much more likely to be impacted. But it should be noted that fatal overdoses increased at a faster rate among females in Travis County between 2020 and 2022.
Despite a steady decline in opioid prescriptions in Texas over the last ten years and the widespread distribution of naloxone, overdose deaths have not declined due to the introduction of synthetic opioids, most notably fentanyl. It doesn’t take much of this extremely powerful opioid to suppress breathing. The rate of fatal fentanyl overdoses increased 599% between 2020 and 2022. During that same period deaths from non-fentanyl opioid overdoses actually decreased by 73%.
The Texas Department of State Health Services estimates that fentanyl poisoning caused 202 deaths in 2023 alone, which is a record high and puts Austin with the highest rate in the state. The partial data for 2024 already had 85 deaths recorded. Deaths from fentanyl have skyrocketed in Travis County since 2020 when there were just 37 related deaths.
Opioid Substance Use Disorder Among Teens in Austin, Texas
Unfortunately, taking opioids is more common among teens than many parents realize. The Texas School Survey (TSS) of Drugs & Alcohol Use is an amazing resource of gauging opioid misuse among teens in the state.
In terms of prescription opioid use, 8.7% of teens in Texas have admitted to misusing prescription painkillers. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has also collected data on teen opioid use and found that across Texas 51,000 kids between 12 and 17 years old misused prescription opioids in 2022.
Fortunately, SAMHSA data found no record of heroin use among people 17 and younger in Texas during 2021 and 2022. However, the age group of 12-17 also has the lowest rate of perceiving the use of heroin as dangerous with just 57.93% believing that using heroin once or twice is a great risk. The one silver lining is that just 1.07% of 12-17 year olds had an opioid use disorder in 2021 and 2022.
What's Being Done to Prevent and Treat Opioid Use Disorder in Texas
Overcoming an opioid addiction is extremely difficult. The physical dependence creates serious withdrawal symptoms that cause many people to relapse quickly.
Part of the public health initiative has been to educate people on the dangers of opioid misuse in an effort to prevent more people from becoming addicted in the first place. There are also drug take back programs that allow people to safely discard unused opioids so they don’t end up being taken by someone without a prescription.
These are front line initiatives, but a lot more is being done in Texas to combat the opioid crisis.
Medication Assisted Treatment
Because the issue is so dire, a lot of research has gone into developing medications and protocols to help reduce withdrawal symptoms and make it easier to stop taking opioids. Medication assisted treatment is now highly recommended for anyone who is trying to end their addiction. Additionally, the state of Texas is providing funds to make these medication assisted treatments more widely available.
The Texas Targeted Opioid Response (TTOR) Program
Texas is one of the states that’s been hardest hit by the opioid crisis. For many years the state government has been diligently working to reduce access to legal and illegal opioids, educate the public and provide recovery support services for Texans with an opioid use disorder.
In 2017 the Texas Targeted Opioid Response (TTOR) program was launched. The program is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In addition to the initiatives above, the TTOR program also expanded evidence based treatments that are provided by clinics as well as recovery services and assessments for anyone who is interested in getting treatment.
Harsher Charges for Fentanyl Dealers in Austin and the Rest of Texas
Another way that Texas is trying to prevent opioid use and overdose deaths is by making changes within the criminal justice system. The changes are aimed at those who are distributing and selling opioids, in particular the highly lethal fentanyl that can be unknowingly added to other substances. The state has classified fentanyl as a poison, and as such anyone who produces or sells it in the state can be charged with murder.
Texas Prescription Monitoring Program
The state has also implemented the Texas Prescription Monitoring Program in an effort to cut down on the distribution and misuse of prescription opioids. The program tracks opioid prescriptions to know which doctors are prescribing them and which patients are receiving the prescriptions. Doctors can access the tracking system to know if patients are already receiving prescription opioids from another physician. It’s a system of checks and balances that is reducing the amount of prescription opioids that are misused and even sold as an illicit street drug.
Support is Available for Those Who Want to Overcome Opioid Substance Abuse
Today, people struggling with opioid use disorder in Austin have more support than ever. There are screening programs for getting into treatment programs, medications to assist with detox and long-term recovery programs like Any Length Retreat to help prevent relapse.
Mental health in America is at an all-time low, and the outlook isn’t better for Texas. In fact, Texans report worse mental health than the average American. In 2023, 36.8% of people in Texas had symptoms of depression and anxiety. The national average at the same time was 32.3%. A few years earlier in 2020, 33% of females in Travis County and 21% of males reported having poor mental health.
The numbers are concerning given that the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse has found that up to 40% of people with an alcohol use disorder also have at least one mental health disorder. Even worse is that the disorders can make each other worse, deepening both problems.
Often treatment plans for alcohol use disorder involve cognitive behavioral therapy and medications that help with co-occurring mental health conditions.
Want support while you overcome an alcohol use disorder?
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can make it very difficult to safely quit drinking on your own. People are much more successful at recovering from an alcohol dependence with professional support, medications and counseling.
At Any Length Retreat we’ve helped many men take control of their alcohol use disorder so that they can regain control over their lives. You can do it too with the right support.
Reach out to our team to discover what our recovery retreats have to offer.
Any Length Retreat's unique recovery programs for men are based on community and helping rebuild a patient's life after addiction. What's provided goes well beyond ending dependence so that lifelong sobriety is possible.
*Any Length Retreat is a supportive, educational recovery system and community. It is not a substitute for psychotherapy, clinical, or medical treatment for substance use disorders or mental health disorders.
