Results from the European Study Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) combined with those from the U.S. Keeping Track Of the Future Survey revealed that American teenagers have high rates of illegal drug use when compared to European teens. On average, 18 percent of European students had used an illicit drug in their life times, compared to 35 percent of U.S.Since 1999, the number of drug overdose deaths including opioids in the U.S. has actually quadrupled, totaling over a half a million deaths during that duration. While we now know more than ever about the dangers of drug abuse, it appears that this knowledge has stopped working to act as a deterrent.