Drug Free Grady

Statistics

These are the most recent figures published by federal and Georgia public health agencies as of October 2026. Each number is matched to its source at the bottom of this page.

Underage drinking in Georgia

Underage drinking remains widespread in Georgia. In 2023 and 2024, an estimated 155,000 Georgians aged 12 to 20 drank alcohol in the past month, and 93,000 engaged in binge drinking: five or more drinks for males, or four or more for females, on one occasion.1

In the 2023-24 Georgia Student Health Survey, Georgia public school students reported the following:2

  • 17.1% of high school students had used alcohol at least once in their lives.
  • 7.5% of high school students drank alcohol in the past 30 days.
  • 4.8% of high school students had five or more drinks in a row in the past 30 days.
  • 3.8% of middle school students drank alcohol in the past 30 days.

Nationally, 22.1% of high school students drank alcohol in the past 30 days in 2023, and 13.3% had their first drink, other than a few sips, before age 13. Among high school students who drink, 42.1% usually get alcohol because someone gives it to them.3

Grady County has 16.75 licensed alcohol retail outlets for every 10,000 residents, compared with 11.46 statewide.2

The cost of underage drinking

Excessive alcohol use is responsible for an average of 143 deaths a year among Georgians under age 21, including 47 homicides, 38 motor vehicle crash deaths and 26 suicides. Together, those deaths take 8,387 years of potential life from young Georgians each year. Nationally, excessive alcohol use causes an average of 4,096 deaths a year among people under 21.4

In 2024, 29% of drivers aged 15 to 20 who were killed in traffic crashes had alcohol in their system, and 25% had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, the legal limit for adult drivers. That year, 67 drivers aged 15 to 20 died in traffic crashes in Georgia.5

What you need to know now: overdoses

The U.S.

  • 79,384 Americans died of a drug overdose in 2024, down from 105,007 in 2023.6
  • 47,735 of those deaths, about 6 in 10, involved fentanyl or other synthetic opioids.6
  • 8.0 million Americans aged 12 and older misused prescription pain relievers in the past year, including 425,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17.7
  • 4.8 million Americans aged 12 and older had an opioid use disorder in 2024.7
  • Of adolescents aged 10 to 19 who died of an overdose in 47 reporting states and jurisdictions from 2019 to 2021, 84% died from an overdose involving illegally made fentanyl, and nearly 1 in 4 showed evidence of counterfeit pills.8

Georgia

  • 1,679 Georgia residents died of a drug overdose in 2025, down from 2,521 in 2023.9
  • Of the 1,990 overdose deaths among Georgia residents in 2024, 1,250, or 63%, involved opioids, and 1,066, or 54%, involved fentanyl or other synthetic opioids.9
  • Georgia's 2024 overdose death rate was 18.1 per 100,000 residents, below the national rate of 23.1.10

Grady County

  • Grady County's age-adjusted rate of emergency room visits for drug overdoses has been higher than Georgia's in each of the last three years: 171.5 per 100,000 residents in 2023, 202.6 in 2024 and 151.8 in 2025, compared with 166.9, 152.8 and 146.9 statewide. These counts include Georgia hospitals only.11
  • From 2015 through 2025, 16 Grady County residents died of a drug overdose, 9 of them involving opioids.9

Opioids, driven by illegally made fentanyl, are involved in most overdose deaths in Georgia and the nation.6, 9

Kratom

Kratom is a tropical tree (Mitragyna speciosa) native to Southeast Asia.12 Products made from its leaves can produce opioid- and stimulant-like effects.13 According to the FDA, kratom is not lawfully marketed in the United States as a drug, a dietary supplement or a food additive.12

  • 1.9 million Americans aged 12 and older used kratom in the past year, including 41,000 aged 12 to 17.14
  • Poison centers received a record 3,434 reports of kratom exposure among people aged 12 and older in 2025, an increase of about 1,200% from 258 reports in 2015. Most kratom-related deaths reported to poison centers involved other substances too, and opioids were reported in 62% of them.15
  • 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, is a concentrated kratom compound sold as tablets, gummies, drink mixes and shots.16 The FDA calls 7-OH an opioid that can be more potent than morphine and has recommended that certain 7-OH products be placed under federal control.17 In October 2026, the DEA announced its intent to temporarily place concentrated 7-OH products in Schedule I, the most restrictive federal category.18
  • Under Georgia law, no one under 21 may buy or possess kratom. Stores must keep it behind the counter, kratom may not be vaped, and the amount of 7-OH in a product is capped.19

Sources

  1. SAMHSA, National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2023-2024 State Estimates: Georgia. www.samhsa.gov
  2. Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Georgia Social Indicator Study 2025, Vol. III (Georgia Student Health Survey, 2023-24 school year; alcohol outlets, fiscal year 2024). gaspsdata.dbhdd.ga.gov
  3. CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2023 (YRBS Explorer). yrbs-explorer.services.cdc.gov
  4. CDC, Alcohol-Related Disease Impact (ARDI), annual averages for 2020-2021, under age 21. nccd.cdc.gov
  5. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts: Young Drivers, 2024 Data (DOT HS 813 814). crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov
  6. CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, Data Brief No. 549: Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2023-2024. www.cdc.gov
  7. SAMHSA, Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. www.samhsa.gov
  8. CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 71(50): Drug Overdose Deaths Among Persons Aged 10-19 Years, United States, July 2019 to December 2021. doi.org
  9. Georgia Department of Public Health, OASIS: Drug Overdose Mortality. oasis.state.ga.us
  10. CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, Drug Overdose Mortality by State. www.cdc.gov
  11. Georgia Department of Public Health, OASIS: Drug Overdose ER Visits and Hospitalizations. oasis.state.ga.us
  12. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA and Kratom. www.fda.gov
  13. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Kratom. nida.nih.gov
  14. SAMHSA, 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Detailed Tables, Table 8.18. www.samhsa.gov
  15. CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 75(11): Increases in Kratom-Related Reports to Poison Centers, United States, 2015-2025. doi.org
  16. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA Issues Warning Letters to Firms Marketing Products Containing 7-Hydroxymitragynine (July 15, 2025). www.fda.gov
  17. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA Takes Steps to Restrict 7-OH Opioid Products Threatening American Consumers (July 29, 2025). www.fda.gov
  18. Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Register 2026-20943: Temporary Placement of 7-Hydroxymitragynine and Mitragynine Pseudoindoxyl in Schedule I, notice of intent (October 14, 2026). www.federalregister.gov
  19. Georgia General Assembly, HB 181 (2024), O.C.G.A. 16-13-121 and 16-13-122, in effect January 1, 2025. gov.georgia.gov