Combatting Drug Use in the United States
A study by WalletHub found that the District of Columbia had the highest drug use of any state, followed by West Virginia, Missouri, Colorado, and New Mexico. Their findings indicate that the District of Columbia had the biggest drug problem, ranking highly for “Drug Use & Addiction” as well as “Drug Health Issues & Rehab.”
Teenage Drug Use
The financial website broke down drug use further by rating the states with the highest percentage of teenage drug users vs. the lowest percentage of drug users. According to their research, Vermont, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, and Colorado had the highest percentage of teenage drug users. Utah and North Dakota were among the states (including the District of Columbia) with the lowest rates of teenage drug users.
Adult Drug Use
WalletHub also looked at the states with the highest percentage of adult drug users, finding that again Vermont ranked 1st, followed by Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Alaska. Utah and South Dakota ranked among the states with the lowest percentage of adult drug users. The information was based on the percentage of adults who had used illicit drugs within the past month.
Drug Overdose Deaths
In-depth research conducted by the personal finance website showed that West Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia were all tied for the most overdose deaths per capita, while South Dakota and Nebraska had the least.
Read WalletHub’s full report: Drug Use by State: 2021’s Problem Areas.
Drug Arrests
Another category was based on the number of drug arrests per capita. As noted in the article, there was an 8x difference between the best and worst state for most drug arrests per capita. South Dakota and Wyoming tied for 1st having the most drug arrests while Massachusetts, Alaska, and Michigan all had the fewest drug arrests per capita.
Drug Treatment
Finally, WalletHub looked at drug treatment. They ranked states based on those with the highest percentage of adults with unmet drug treatment needs as well as states lacking substance abuse treatment facilities.
Their research indicates that Colorado, the District of Columbia, and Nevada all have the highest percentage of adults with unmet drug treatment needs or those who needed drug treatment but did not receive it within the past year. Nevada, Texas, and the District of Columbia all had the fewest substance abuse treatment facilities per 100,000 drug users.
Read the full analysis here: Drug Use by State: 2021’s Problem Areas.