| Sumario: | Part of a special section on mental health services and vulnerable populations. The writers present new estimates of the numbers of persons in the U.S. who need and receive treatment for drug abuse. In order to derive these estimates, improved definitions and statistical estimating methods are applied to the National Household Survey on Drug Use. There are two separate estimates, based on severity, of people requiring treatment, producing a combined total of 7.1 million people. This analysis does not explore the reasons why there is a gap between the need and supply of treatment, but it does demonstrate that such a gap exists and notes that even if treatment were completely effective, there would still be a problem of access to such services. These new estimates are central to improved resource planning and allocation.
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