Posted by: John S Kiernan

Drug abuse has a long and storied history in the United States, and we’ve been “at war” with it since 1971 under the Nixon administration. But no matter who is in office, the federal drug budget continues to increase. It’s moved from $23.8 billion in 2013 to almost $27.5 billion in 2017.

The current administration seems to be taking a hardline approach to drug use. President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have advocated for strict sentences for drug-related offenses, even as far as the death penalty in some cases.

Given the uncertain future and lack of significant progress to date, it’s fair to wonder where drug abuse is most pronounced and which areas are most at risk in the current political climate. This report attempts to answer those questions by comparing the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 20 key metrics, ranging from arrest and overdose rates to opioid prescriptions and meth-lab incidents per capita. Continue reading for the complete findings, commentary from a panel of researchers and a full description of the methodology used.

1. Main Findings
2. Red States vs. Blue States
3. Ask the Experts: Dealing With Our Drug Problems
4. Methodology

Main Findings

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/35150/geochart-drug-use.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="http://bit.ly/2VYrKKh>  

Highest Drug Use by State

Overall Rank (1=’Biggest Problem’)	State	Total Score	‘Drug Use & Addiction’ Rank	‘Law Enforcement’ Rank	‘Drug Health Issues & Rehab’ Rank
1	District of Columbia	62.97	1	22	1
2	Missouri	57.73	16	2	21
3	New Hampshire	55.65	8	6	28
4	Michigan	55.35	10	13	11
5	West Virginia	53.98	6	3	50
6	New Mexico	52.14	14	11	36
7	Indiana	51.69	18	5	32
8	Rhode Island	50.99	2	50	4
9	Kentucky	50.57	12	7	51
10	Pennsylvania	50.54	15	9	47
11	Massachusetts	49.99	11	24	30
12	Colorado	49.58	19	21	24
13	Wyoming	49.14	39	1	19
14	Tennessee	48.78	13	33	18
15	Oregon	48.42	20	28	7
16	Delaware	47.85	17	25	27
17	Alaska	47.72	4	45	16
18	Maine	47.33	7	39	31
19	Arkansas	46.77	29	12	25
20	Maryland	46.70	5	37	40
21	Ohio	46.66	3	38	45
22	Montana	45.96	32	18	10
23	Vermont	45.77	9	48	23
24	Nevada	45.66	21	43	3
25	Connecticut	45.00	22	31	22
26	New York	44.48	34	16	20
27	Illinois	44.38	28	14	41
28	Louisiana	43.77	25	29	17
29	New Jersey	42.53	35	10	42
30	Florida	42.08	23	36	29
31	Arizona	41.79	26	41	15
32	North Carolina	41.51	24	34	34
33	South Carolina	40.76	27	49	2
34	South Dakota	39.37	48	8	6
35	Oklahoma	39.35	30	32	35
36	Mississippi	39.20	37	30	9
37	Texas	39.10	46	15	13
38	Virginia	38.61	43	19	37
39	Georgia	38.44	36	35	12
40	Wisconsin	38.20	40	17	48
41	California	38.08	38	42	5
42	Washington	36.85	31	47	26
43	Idaho	35.43	42	26	44
44	Nebraska	34.64	50	20	14
45	Alabama	34.59	33	51	8
46	Hawaii	33.62	41	40	38
47	North Dakota	33.36	49	4	49
48	Kansas	33.17	45	23	46
49	Utah	30.05	44	44	39
50	Iowa	29.90	51	27	33
51	Minnesota	27.03	47	46	43

 

Red States vs. Blue States

 

Ask the Experts: Dealing With Our Drug Problems

For a better understanding of America’s relationship with drugs and advice on what people can do if they think a friend or family member has a problem, we asked the following questions to a panel of drug-addiction experts. You can find their bios and responses below.

1. What are the most effective measures state and local authorities can take to combat the opioid epidemic?
2. Why do American doctors over-prescribe pain medication? To what degree is this responsible for the current epidemic?
3. What should family or friends do if they suspect someone has a drug problem?
4. Do you think Naloxone – the drug used to counteract overdoses – should be readily available to anyone who requests it?
5. Should the federal government require all rehab facilities to accept Medicaid as a form of payment? What other steps should Federal officials take to improve access to treatment?

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• Richard Rawson Ph.D. – Professor, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Co-Director, Integrated Substance Abuse Program, University of California, Los Angeles
• Courtney Olcott Ph.D., MPH – Assistant Research Scientist & Program Manager, Partnerships for Success, Indiana University School of Public Health
• Richard Saitz MD, MPH, FACP, DFASAM – Chair and Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health
• Joseph Day DrPH – Associate Professor, Program Director, Community Health Program, Governors State University
• Kerry Green Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Behavioral and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland
• Silvia Martins MD, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School Of Public Health, Columbia University

Methodology

In order to determine which states have the biggest drug problems, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia in three overall categories: 1) Drug Use & Addiction, 2) Law Enforcement and 3) Drug Health Issues & Rehab.

Those categories include a total of 20 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the biggest drug problem.

We then determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score. This total score was the basis for our final ranking. So the state ranked 1st in this study has the biggest drug problem, based on the data at hand, while the state ranked 51st has the smallest drug problem.

Drug Use & Addiction – Total Points: 50

• Share of Teenagers Who Used Illicit Drugs in the Past Month: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Share of Teenagers Who Tried Marijuana Before Age 13: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Share of Teenagers Offered, Sold or Given an Illegal Drug on School Property in the Past Year: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
• Share of Adults Who Used Illicit Drugs in the Past Month: Triple Weight (~10.00 Points)
• Number of Opioid Pain Reliever Prescriptions per 100 People: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Number of Methamphetamine Lab Incidents (population adj): Full Weight (~3.33 Points)Note: The square root of the population was used to calculate the “Number of Residents” in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across states.
• Overdose Deaths per Capita: Quadruple Weight (~13.33 Points)
• Overdose Deaths Growth (2016 vs 2015): Full Weight (~3.33 Points)

Law Enforcement – Total Points: 25

• Drug Arrests per Capita: Half Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Drug Arrests on College Campuses per 1,000 Students: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
• Prescription Drug Monitoring Laws: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
  • 1 – States with a prescription drug monitoring law that requires doctors to consult an opioid prescription database before prescribing painkillers.
  • 0.5 – States with a prescription drug monitoring law that does not require doctors to consult an opioid database.
  • 0 – States with no prescription drug monitoring laws.
• Maternity Drug Policy (Is Substance Abuse During Pregnancy a Crime?): Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
• States with Employee Drug Testing Laws: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
  • 1 – Authorized
  • 0 – Currently Not Available

Drug Health Issues & Rehab – Total Points: 25

• Share of Adults Who Needed but Didn’t Receive Treatment for Illicit Drug Use in the Past Year: Double Weight (~5.56 Points)
• Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities per 100,000 People (12 Years and Older) Using Illicit Drugs: Double Weight (~5.56 Points)
• Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment Services per 100,000 People (12 Years and Older) Using Illicit Drugs: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Naloxone Availability without Individual Prescription: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Share of Addiction Treatment Medication Paid by Medicaid: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Narcotics Anonymous & Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings Accessibility: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)
• Substance Abuse & Behavioural Disorder Counsellors per Capita: Full Weight (~2.78 Points)

Videos for News Use:

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Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Project Know, the Pew Charitable Trusts, Guttmacher Institute, OHS Health & Safety Services, CVS Health, IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, Recovery.org and Pro Publica.

Image: Photographee.eu / Shutterstock.com

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