Drug abuse statistics help illustrate how widespread substance use is in the Greater Houston area and across Texas.

Data from multiple reporting agencies highlight the scope of the issue:

• Approximately 490,000 people aged 12 and older in the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown area report using drugs each year (SAMHSA).

• Methamphetamine is the top drug threat in Texas, followed by heroin and cocaine (DEA).

• Alprazolam (Xanax) is the most commonly abused benzodiazepine in Texas and is often part of the dangerous combination called the “Houston Cocktail” or “Holy Trinity” (alprazolam, carisoprodol, and hydrocodone) (Steve Hicks School of Social Work, UT Austin).

• In 2018, 12% of heroin-related deaths in Texas involved heroin mixed with fentanyl.

• Up to 18% of admissions to Texas addiction treatment programs are for methamphetamine use.

• In 2020, Texas law enforcement seized:

  • 15,515 pounds of methamphetamine

  • 1,565 pounds of heroin

  • 4,747 pounds of cocaine

• Drug overdose deaths in Texas increased from 9.5 per 100,000 residents in 2015 to 14.3 per 100,000 in 2020 (Kaiser Family Foundation).

• Between 2018–2019, SAMHSA reported:

  • 1.4% of adolescents and 4.9% of adults had an alcohol use disorder

  • 2.5% of adolescents and 2.2% of adults had an illicit drug use disorder

These statistics highlight the serious impact of substance use across Texas and emphasize the ongoing need for prevention, treatment, and recovery support.