Results from the European Survey Job on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) integrated with those from the U.S. Keeping Track Of the Future Survey exposed that American teens have high rates of illicit drug use when compared with European teenagers. On average, 18 percent of European trainees had used an illegal drug in their lifetimes, compared to 35 percent of U.S.Given that 1999, the number of drug overdose deaths involving opioids in the U.S. has actually quadrupled, amounting to over a half a million casualties during that period. While we now know more than ever about the dangers of substance abuse, it appears that this understanding has stopped working to function as a deterrent.