Drug Use by State: 2019’s Problem Areas

https://wallethub.com/edu/drug-use-by-state/35150/

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 over $27.7 billion in 2018.

The current administration seems to be taking a hardline approach to drug use. In addition to the issue of drugs crossing the border from Mexico, President Donald Trump has been focused especially on the opioid crisis. The Trump Administration declared the crisis a national emergency. Congress also passed legislation last year aimed at providing support for people addicted and penalties for companies that contribute to overprescribing. President Trump signed this bill into law.

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 22 key metrics, ranging from arrest and overdose rates to opioid prescriptions and employee drug testing laws. Continue reading for the complete findings, commentary from a panel of researchers and a full description of the methodology used.

 Highest Drug Use by State

 

Red States vs. Blue States

 

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 22 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 (~5.88 Points)
• Share of Teenagers Who Tried Marijuana Before Age 13: Full Weight (~2.94 Points)
• Share of Teenagers Offered, Sold or Given an Illegal Drug on School Property in the Past Year: Full Weight (~2.94 Points)
• Share of Adults Who Used Illicit Drugs in the Past Month: Triple Weight (~8.82 Points)
• Share of Children Who Lived with Anyone Who Had a Problem with Alcohol or Drugs: Full Weight (~2.94 Points)
• Number of Opioid Pain Reliever Prescriptions per 100 People: Double Weight (~5.88 Points)
• Number of Clandestine Drug Laboratories or Dumpsites: Double Weight (~5.88 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 (~11.76 Points)
• Overdose Deaths Growth (2017 vs 2016): Full Weight (~2.94 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 Couldn’t Get Treatment for Illicit Drug Use in the Past Year: Triple Weight (~6.82 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the share of adults who needed but didn’t receive treatment for illicit drug use in the past year.
• Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities per 100,000 People Using Illicit Drugs: Double Weight (~4.55 Points)
  Note: This metric considers people who are at least 12 years old.
• Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment Services per 100,000 People Using Illicit Drugs: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
  Note: This metric considers people who are at least 12 years old.
• Naloxone Availability without Individual Prescription: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
  Note: Naloxone is a safe and effective antidote to opioid overdoses. This is a binary metric.
  • 1 – Naloxone is available without individual prescription
  • 0 – Naloxone is not available without individual prescription
• Drug Treatment Programs Availability for Pregnant Women: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
  Note: This binary metric measures the availability or absence of drug treatment programs for pregnant women in a state.
• Share of Addiction Treatment Medication Paid by Medicaid: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Narcotics Anonymous & Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings Accessibility: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)
• Substance Abuse & Behavioral Disorder Counsellors per Capita: Full Weight (~2.27 Points)

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, Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, Project Know, the Pew Charitable Trusts, Guttmacher Institute, OHS Health & Safety Services, CVS Health, IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics and Recovery.org.

Image: Photographee.eu / Shutterstock.com

Filed under: General Problems