
Substance use disorders can affect anyone—regardless of age, gender, race or socioeconomic status. It is a disease that impacts a person’s brain and behavior. According to the CDC, nearly 92,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses in 2020. What is it exactly that causes someone to become addicted to a substance, why is it happening so frequently and why are substances taking so many lives? Peace Hospital’s Martha Mather and Dr. Stephen Taylor discuss what we know about substance use disorder and the treatments out there that can help.