As part of a ‘year in review’ represented by data collected by the publication’s journalists, The Guardian recently released a short video detailing statistics around drug use in the U.K. and the U.S. Although the video doesn’t mention anything about addiction treatment, it certainly sets a focus for substance abuse rehab in the coming new year. It’s an excellent idea to begin reform with facts, no matter how difficult they may be to stomach, so that any new resolutions for addiction treatment address users—like those represented in The Guardian’s roundup—who might benefit from them the most.

The results of the survey, which was completed by 15,500 people (most of them from the U.K. and the U.S.), represent a small portion of the substance abusing demographic. But despite how limited the pool may be, the findings are at both times, startling and unsurprising.

Below are some key numbers:

  • Fifteen percent (15%) of those who took the survey admitted to consuming a mystery white powder without knowing what it was.
  • A third of those who tried this unknown substance said they got from a stranger.
  • Younger people were more likely to try a mystery substance from a stranger than were older persons.
  • Fifty-three percent (53%) of British club goers said that using substances could change the tone of a night out, transforming it from a bad one to a good one.

In the US, 43% said this

  • Ninety-three percent (93%) of cannabis users said they believe that natural cannabis is safer to use than synthetic types.
  • About a third of those surveyed from the U.K. said that they think police can notice if they are driving under the influence of substances.

Perhaps the most surprising of the survey results is where people, with the intent of abusing, got sleeping pills. Although twenty-one percent (21%) of those surveyed said they got sleeping pills from a drug dealer, twenty-seven perfect (27%) got sleeping pills from a family doctor, and fifty-seven percent (57%) of those surveyed abused sleeping pills after receiving them from a friend.

Although The Guardian doesn’t say how these numbers can be used to amend and better addiction treatment services, it is always helpful to know what substances are being abused, and how abusers have access to substances. Only then can substance abuse rehab address the habits that endanger those who are addicted.