Professor David Nutt, a psychiatrist and director of neuropsychopharmacology in the Division of Brain Sciences at Imperial College, London, set out to measure just that. He and his team worked on using statistical data to help them measure the potential for and consequences of using certain substances. In completing this research they helped answer an interesting question: What are the five most addictive substances in the world?

1. Heroin

Heroin was listed as the most addictive drug on their scale with a score of 3 out of 3. Heroin is an opiate that causes the level of dopamine in the brain’s reward system to increase by up to 200%. It’s also a very dangerous drug considering the fact that a lethal dose of heroin is only 5 times more than the dose required to get high. Heroin was also rated as the second most harmful drug in terms of damage to users and society within an estimated market of $68 billion dollars for illegal opiates worldwide.

2. Cocaine

Cocaine was listed as number two on their list of addictive substances for its ability to prevent neurons from turning off your brain’s dopamine signal. Dopamine can rise up to more than three times the normal level when on cocaine. In addition to those addicting side effects, it is also extremely dangerous as crack cocaine was listed as the third most damaging drug with powered cocaine ranking at fifth most damaging.

3. Nicotine

Nicotine is the main addictive ingredient in tobacco and was named number three on Nutt’s list. More than two-thirds of Americans who have tried smoking reported becoming dependent during their life. How dangerous is smoking? A 2002 study estimated that tobacco will kill more than 8 million people annually by 2030.

4. Barbiturates (“downers”)

Barbiturates, also known as downers, barbs, blue bullets, nembies, are a type of drug that were initially used to treat anxiety and induce sleep. However, they have long been abused for their ability to cause euphoria at low doses. These drugs can be extremely dangerous because at higher doses they can be lethal due to their ability to suppress breathing. Serious barbiturate abuse and dependence was common when these drugs were more easily available, but this number has seen a significant decline as prescriptions today are not as easily obtained.

5. Alcohol

Although it is legal in both the U.S. and U.K., alcohol scored number five on their list of addictive substances with a 1.9 out of 3 on their scale. In lab experiments they found that alcohol increased dopamine in the brain’s reward system by 40% to 360%. The more alcohol that was consumed, the higher the dopamine levels got. While it is a legal and commonly used substance, alcohol is still dangerous especially when consumed in large quantities. A study conducted by the World Health Organization estimated that 3 million people died in 2012 due to damage caused by drinking. It’s also estimated that 22% of people who have taken a drink will develop dependence on alcohol at some point in their life.

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New laws legalizing recreational marijuana and shifting attitudes towards drugs make many hesitant to believe the failed drug test rate will drop anytime soon. Barry Sample, the senior director of science and technology for Quest Diagnostics said, “It’s unfortunate that we mark 30 years of the Drug-Free Workplace Act with clear evidence that drugs continue to invade the country’s workplaces. Not only have declines appeared to have bottomed out, but… in some drug classes and areas of the country drug positivity rates are increasing.”

Some key findings from the 2018 Drug Testing Index include the following:

• Cocaine: This will be the fifth consecutive year that positivity rates for cocaine have increased. Certain states have even seen a double-digit increases during these years for cocaine positivity rates. Nebraska saw a 91% percent increase between 2016 and 2017, Idaho (88% increase), Washington (31%), Nevada (25%), Maryland (22%), and Wisconsin showed a 13% increase.

• Methamphetamine: Over the last 4 years, methamphetamine positivity has skyrocketed across the U.S.—particularly in the midwest and southern states. With 21 states having experienced 140-167% increase in positivity. Some of the states with the largest increases include: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

• Marijuana: For the past 5 years, marijuana has seen a steady increase of 4% for failed drug tests, including a nearly 8% increase in safety-sensitive workplaces. The largest increases for failed drug tests in this past year have appeared in states that have now legalized marijuana. These states include: Nevada (39% increase), California (20%), and Massachusetts (11%). The Drug Testing Index also showed that almost half (45%) of all workers with positive tests included some evidence of marijuana.

• Opioid: The large-scale fight against prescription opioid abuse for the past few years seems to be paying off with a 17% decrease from 2016 to 2017. This is a dramatic decline that put opioid specific use, other than codeine, at its lowest positivity rate in more than a decade.

• Heroin: Other good news showed that heroin positivity has decreased to a 3 year low – which marked almost an 11% decrease.

Sample said this is the first time they have seen such a broad increase across drug types. The decline in opioids shows a strong step forward, but overall rates are still remaining high. The increased workplace drug rates don’t seem to come as much of a surprise though, with the increase in marijuana use being more than expected.

“These increases are similar to the increases we observed after recreational use statues were passed in Washington and Colorado. While it is too early to tell if this is a trend, our data suggests that the recreational use of marijuana is spilling into the workforce, including among individuals most responsible for keeping our communities safe.”

it’s more important now than ever to understand the signs of substance abuse and be qualified to report such abuse in the workplace.

While it’s not completely clear what is causing this sustained increase in drug use at the workplace,it’s more important now than ever to understand the signs of substance abuse and be qualified to report such abuse in the workplace.

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