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Drug Use in the US: 2020 Problem States
May 28, 2020
Sydney Jennings
Sydney Jennings
Associate Editor of Patient Care Online
Where is teen drug use highest? Which states have the lowest percentage of adult drug users? Answers plus more drug use stats in our new slideshow.
WalletHub recently compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine which US states have the biggest drug problems using data from various sources including the US Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Drug Enforcement Agency, and more. In the slides above, find out which states ranked highest and which ones are problem states.
The state that ranked #1 in drug use issues was Missouri, followed by West Virginia, Michigan, the District of Columbia, and New Hampshire.
The 5 states with the least drug use problems were South Dakota, Idaho, Kansas, Hawaii, and Minnesota.
Vermont had the highest percentage of teenage drug users, followed by Maine, Washington, Massachusetts, and Montana.
The 5 states with the lowest percentage of teenage drug users was Kansas, Mississippi, Texas, North Dakota, and Utah.
The 5 states with the highest percentage of adult drug users were Vermont, Oregon, Colorado, the District of Columbia, and Alaska.
The 5 states with the lowest percentage of adult drug users were Mississippi, Virginia, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah.
Maryland, Connecticut, and New York were tied as the states with the most people receiveing substance abuse treatment per 1000 drug users with New Jersey and Iowa ranking 4th and 5th, respectively.
The 5 states with the fewest people receiving substance abuse treatment per 1000 drug users were Illinois, West Virginia, Nebraska, Florida, and New Mexico.
Alabama had the most opioid prescriptions per 100 people, followed by Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Louisiana.
The District of Columbia had the lowest opioid prescriptions per 100 people, followed by Hawaii, New York, California, and Massachusetts.
Per capita, West Virginia and Delaware tied as the states with the most overdose deaths, followed by Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
South Dakota had the lowest overdose deaths per capita, followed by Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota, and Texas.
South Dakota and Wyoming both had the most drug arrests per capita, followed by South Carolina, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
Massachusetts had the fewest drug arrests per capita, followed by Alaska, Vermont, Hawaii, and Kansas.
The District of Columbia had the highest percentage of adults with unmet drug-treatment needs, followed by Colorado, Vermont, Washington, and Connecticut.
New Jersey had the lowest percentage of adults with unmet drug-treatment needs, followed by Kansas, Wisconsin, Hawaii, and Wyoming.
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