In 2000, an estimated 4.7 million people aged 12 or older (2.1 percent of the total population) needed addiction treatment for an illicit drug abuse problem. This includes 2.8 million classified by the survey with illicit drug dependence, 1.5 million classified with illicit drug abuse, and another 0.3 million who received specialty addiction treatment but were not classified as dependent or abusing.
Of the 4.7 million people needing addiction treatment, 0.8 million people (16.6 percent of the people who needed addiction treatment) received treatment at a specialty facility.
The addiction treatment gap was estimated to be 3.9 million people in 2000, or 1.7 percent of the total population.
Of the 3.9 million people who needed but did not receive treatment in 2000, an estimated 381,000 reported that they felt they needed addiction treatment for their drug problem. This includes an estimated 129,000 who reported that they had made an effort but were unable to get treatment and 252,000 who reported making no effort to get addiction treatment.
Among the 3.9 million people who needed but did not receive treatment in 2000, 62.3 percent were classified with drug dependence and 37.7 percent were classified with drug abuse. However, among the estimated 381,000 persons who felt they needed addiction treatment for a drug problem, 88.5 percent were classified with drug dependence and 11.5 percent were classified with drug abuse.
