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Conditions · Substance Use

Substance use disorders — SAMHSA overview

What substance use disorders are, how they are diagnosed, and the treatments with the strongest evidence.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration9 min read

SAMHSA's substance use pages cover alcohol, opioid, stimulant, cannabis, and other substance use disorders. The framing is squarely medical: SUDs are chronic, treatable health conditions, not moral failings.

The pages link directly into FindTreatment.gov and the SAMHSA National Helpline (1-800-662-HELP), the two best U.S. starting points for getting into care.

Open at Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Mental Hum's library is a curated index of authoritative third-party resources. The summary above is our own framing; the full information lives at the source.

A note on this article

Mental Hum publishes general education, not medical advice. If something here reflects your own experience, please consider speaking to a clinician. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.