With SAMHSA’s National Prevention Week in full swing and the Trump administration focusing on the opioid epidemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Biggest Drug Problems in 2019 as well as accompanying videos to highlight the areas that stand to be most affected.
This study compares the 50 states and the District in terms of 22 key metrics, ranging from arrest and overdose rates to opioid prescriptions and employee drug testing laws. You can find some highlights below.
| States with the Biggest Drug Problems | ||||
| 1 | District of Columbia | 11 | Rhode Island | |
| 2 | Michigan | 12 | Oregon | |
| 3 | Missouri | 13 | Nevada | |
| 4 | West Virginia | 14 | Tennessee | |
| 5 | Indiana | 15 | Massachusetts | |
| 6 | Arkansas | 16 | Maine | |
| 7 | New Hampshire | 17 | Delaware | |
| 8 | Kentucky | 18 | Vermont | |
| 9 | Colorado | 19 | Connecticut | |
| 10 | New Mexico | 20 | Pennsylvania | |
Key Stats:
- Alabama has 107 retail opioid pain reliever prescriptions per 100 residents, leading the nation. On the other end of the spectrum, there are 29 for every 100 District of Columbia residents.
- West Virginia has 57.80 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 residents. That is 7.1 times more than in Nebraska, which has the fewest at 8.10 per 100,000 residents.
- Rhode Island has the highest share of teens who used illicit drugs in the past month, at 11.81 percent. That is 1.9 times higher than in Utah, which has the lowest at 6.10 percent.
- Oregon has the highest share of adults who used illicit drugs in the past month, at 21.74 percent. That is 2.8 times higher than in North Dakota, which has the lowest at 7.81 percent.
To view the full report and learn about drug abuse in your state, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/drug-use-by-state/35150/
Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to schedule a phone, Skype or in-studio interview with one of our experts. Feel free to embed this YouTube video summarizing the study on your website. You can also use or edit these raw files as you see fit. Full data sets for specific states and the District are also available upon request.
Best,
Diana Polk
WalletHub Communications Manager
(202) 684-6386
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