More than two million people aged 65 and older in the United States are addicted to drugs, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal on aging addicts. That’s roughly 3.5% of the 58 million Americans over the age of 65.

The number of senior drug addicts is up dramatically from only 200,000 in 2014. Since the turn of the century, the U.S. first endured the Oxycontin craze cranking out millions of people addicted to prescription painkillers, which morphed into a heroin phase when prescriptions became more difficult to get, which morphed into a fentanyl phase when an easily-manufactured synthetic opioid 50 times as strong as heroin was added to the mix.

In 2024, America still suffers a polysubstance abuse syndrome that kills 250 people every day. The number of deaths from overdose has finally started to decline after a decade of steady increase. More addicts are surviving thanks to the spread of naloxone, the availability of replacement therapy (methadone and buprenorphine), and the lowering of the number of patients with painkiller prescriptions.

Most addicts will recover by themselves without treatment. According to a 2021 survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 72% of people addicted to opiates recover. The SAMHSA report concluded with this optimistic observation:

These data reveal that recovery, from the perspective of those impacted by mental health and substance use conditions, is real and possible for the majority, and that there are many adults in the U.S. who identify as being in recovery. Recovery is also clearly supported by a range of factors, including social, spiritual, and somatic, thus calling for a whole-health approach to facilitating recovery.

Older addicts face a variety of unique issues that need to be addressed in an individualized treatment plan. Some of these include:

Relocation. Moving is often recommended for younger addicts to break the patterns of addiction and make a fresh start. For older Americans, moving to a new town and starting over could exacerbate feelings of loneliness and stress.

Poor Health. Aging addicts are often in poor physical condition due to years of substance abuse. Infections, liver damage and dental problems are some of the health issues facing older addicts which need to be addressed along with treatment for addiction.

Housing. It’s difficult for seniors to find elder care facilities that accept people in substance use disorder recovery programs.

Employment. Most senior addicts are not in the workforce and are not likely to re-enter in a meaningful way. Volunteerism is an important tool to keep them engaged.

On the positive side, persons 65 years and older qualify for Medicare, so medical providers are reimbursed for care. Medicare is expanding treatment for substance use disorders and new rules require coverage of mental health and substance use disorders on parity with other medical care.

In her piece for The Wall Street Journal, health and medicine reporter Julie Wernau interviews a recovering senior addict who tells her, “I started chasing sobriety like I was chasing heroin.” This reinforces the importance of finding substitute behaviors to break the cycle of cravings and indulgence.

The SAMHSA report is full of suggestions for supporting seniors and others in recovery from both substance use disorders and mental health disorders, which often go together. They address the whole person — health, housing, employment, family, community, and spirituality — and focus on engaging the whole network in support of recovery.

In conclusion, the SAMHSA report hopes that all senior addicts “are met with the knowledge and belief that anyone can recover, and that they can successfully manage their conditions.”

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published December 4, 2024.

Sources:

“A Generation of Drug-Addiction Survivors Is Entering Old Age,” The Wall Street Journal, December 1, 2024.

“Recovery from Substance Use and Mental Health Problems Among Adults in the United States,” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2023.

“The Nexus of Aging and Substance Use: A Scoping Review of Therapeutic Modalities for Geriatric Substance Use Disorders,” Cureus, September 2024.

Public Domain image courtesy of NARA & DVIDS Public Domain Archive.