Using existing national and California data, Wendy Holt and Talia Hahn provide an overview of the prevalence of substance use disorders, their health and social impacts, and the state’s SUD treatment resources in the chart book, Substance Use in California: A Look at Addiction and Treatment (2018).

We can gain powerful insights into unmet needs at both the community and state level using available data. Tracking measures over time can provide a report card on this often overlooked sector of the healthcare system.