{"id":371,"date":"2022-09-04T02:28:13","date_gmt":"2022-09-04T02:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1-14088c5.ingress-daribow.ewp.live\/states-that-have-the-highest-drug-abuse-rates\/"},"modified":"2022-09-04T02:28:13","modified_gmt":"2022-09-04T02:28:13","slug":"states-that-have-the-highest-drug-abuse-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/?p=371","title":{"rendered":"States That Have The Highest Drug Abuse Rates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was in 1971 that <a href=\"https:\/\/discoverrecovery.com\/why-the-war-on-drugs-failed\/\">President Richard Nixon declared a \u201cwar on drugs\u201d<\/a>. This attempt to deal with the use of illegal drugs in the United States has been about as effective as Prohibition was in the 1920s.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drug abuse has only gotten worse, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. There were <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over 100,000<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> deaths due to drug overdose in the one-year period that ended in April of 2021. This was a 28.5% increase from the same period in 2020.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why does the problem persist? One clue might be found if we look at the US states with the highest drug abuse rates.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The District of Columbia<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The place that has the highest rates of drug and alcohol addiction is actually not a state \u2013 it\u2019s our nation\u2019s capital.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are some<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the troubling statistics:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One in ten DC residents have an alcohol use disorder, which is twice the national average<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One in eight have a substance abuse disorder, also twice the national average<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Opioid overdoses in our capital have doubled between 2018 and 2020<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2020, 94% of opioid cases in DC involved <a href=\"https:\/\/discoverrecovery.com\/effects-of-fentanyl-on-the-body\/\">fentanyl<\/a>, which is also found in most heroin in DC<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alcohol, marijuana, <a href=\"https:\/\/discoverrecovery.com\/cocaine-users-have-impaired-ability-to-predict-loss\/\">cocaine<\/a>, and PCP are the most commonly abused drugs used in D.C. Some experts think the city\u2019s large population of politicians and others with high-stress jobs may lead to higher addiction rates.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Vermont<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance in Vermont, with the state having <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">higher drinking rates<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than the country as a whole.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most common drugs, aside from alcohol, are <a href=\"https:\/\/discoverrecovery.com\/the-opioid-crisis-overdoses-continue-increasing-in-the-us\/\">opioids<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/discoverrecovery.com\/opioid-addiction-in-oregon\/\">heroin<\/a>, and marijuana. Since the year 2000, there has been an eight-fold increase in those seeking treatment for opioid addiction. In 2021, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fatal overdoses<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> due to illegal drug use were up 38% annually in Vermont.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The lack of addiction treatment facilities in the state may be part of the problem.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">State officials also point to the high level of drug trafficking as Vermont lies on the route from Montreal in Canada to large East Coast cities such as Boston and New York.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Colorado<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Colorado is one of the US states with the highest drug abuse rates. It actually ranks first in the country in teen drug abuse rates.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The pandemic has created spikes in drug overdose rates in the state. From May 2019 to May 2021, there was <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an increase of 50%.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment states that the deaths are being driven by fentanyl.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data reveals that prescription painkillers are a factor in <a href=\"https:\/\/discoverrecovery.com\/coping-with-loss-from-drugs\/\">overdose deaths<\/a> as well, and that addiction rates are highest in Denver. Marijuana is legal in the state and some blame its use as a gateway drug for high teen addiction rates.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, perhaps thanks to pot being legal in the state, there are a plethora of treatment options available including many treatment centers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Delaware<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overdose deaths in the state <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">set a record<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 2021. The number of deaths increased by 15% from 2020. According to the state\u2019s health officials, more than 82% of overdoses involved fentanyl. The Department of Health and Social Services worries that the pandemic has made problems worse.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/discoverrecovery.com\/programs\/heroin-addiction-treatment-center\/\">Heroin addiction<\/a> is considered to be driven by painkiller use. People who were on prescription drugs often turn to heroin when they can no longer get the medications. Fentanyl is often mixed with street heroin.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One report states that <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">80% of heroin users<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the state started with prescription pain killers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Rhode Island<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country, is ranks third in overall adult drug use and fifth when it comes to teen drug use. It also ranks second when it comes to adults who seek treatment but can\u2019t get it.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Opioids played the largest role<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the state when it came to drug deaths. Fentanyl was number two, with cocaine and alcohol coming in third and fourth. Often, a combination of drugs were discovered.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As in the rest of the country, COVID-19 played a role in terms of spikes in overdose rates. Prior to the pandemic, addiction rates were actually on the decline in the state.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As with many states dealing with drug addiction, Rhode Island\u2019s largest city, Providence, has the highest rates of overdose deaths.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Common Factors<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Analyzing the data, there are certain commonalities apparent:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The COVID-19 pandemic. Drug overdose deaths nationwide have spiked during this time.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The prevalence of Fentanyl. This opioid is considered 100 times stronger than morphine. It is often added to street drugs and users often don\u2019t realize until its too late that they are taking it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Need for treatment programs<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prevalence of overdoses in more populated areas<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/us-states-with-the-highest-drug-abuse.jpg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was in 1971 that President Richard Nixon declared a \u201cwar on drugs\u201d. This attempt to deal with the use of illegal drugs in the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_dr_metadata":[],"_dr_schema":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-addiction-in-the-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/discover-recovery-1410e39.ingress-florina.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}