Indiana Has 2020’s 10th Biggest Drug Problem – WalletHub Study

(UNDATED) – Drug abuse has a long and storied history in the United States, and the United States has 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, growing from $28.8 billion in 2017 to $29.9 billion in 2019.

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 epidemic, even declaring it a national crisis. Unfortunately, any progress made on that front is threatened by the coronavirus pandemic, as social distancing ends up creating more potential for relapses and overdoses.

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.

With the stress of social distancing leading to drug use relapses or overdoses SAMHSA’s National Prevention Week in full swing, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on the States with the Biggest Drug Problems in 2020.

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.

You can find some highlights below.

Drug Abuse & Prevention in Indiana (1=Biggest Problem; 25=Avg.):

• 25^th – Share of Teenagers Who Used Illicit Drugs in the Past Month
• 19^th – Share of Adults Who Used Illicit Drugs in the Past Month
• 10^th – Opioid Pain Reliever Prescriptions per Capita
• 19^th – Drug Overdose Deaths per Capita
• 12^th – Drug Arrests per Capita
• 7^th – Coronavirus Support Score

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	Missouri	58.96	18	1	16
2	West Virginia	58.72	4	3	36
3	Michigan	58.32	6	14	9
4	District of Columbia	56.82	3	36	2
5	New Hampshire	56.30	7	9	23
6	New Mexico	55.90	5	18	29
7	Colorado	55.81	20	7	14
8	Arkansas	53.69	14	8	34
9	Nevada	52.70	9	42	1
10	Indiana	52.58	21	4	40
11	Vermont	51.64	1	47	20
12	Delaware	51.02	2	44	13
13	Oregon	50.57	8	39	4
14	Connecticut	49.85	16	26	19
15	Massachusetts	49.41	15	24	30
16	Rhode Island	49.25	10	45	11
17	Kentucky	48.85	13	12	51
18	Arizona	48.59	24	20	17
19	Tennessee	48.51	11	27	31
20	Montana	48.45	22	29	5
21	Louisiana	47.78	27	23	15
22	New Jersey	47.35	30	6	42
23	Maine	44.95	12	46	32
24	Oklahoma	44.61	28	31	21
25	Washington	44.44	17	48	22
26	Pennsylvania	44.27	31	10	47
27	Illinois	43.49	33	16	45
28	South Carolina	43.42	29	40	10
29	Alaska	42.90	23	49	12
30	Ohio	42.86	25	32	39
31	Wyoming	42.82	41	2	44
32	Maryland	42.18	19	41	43
33	North Carolina	41.88	32	21	38
34	New York	41.79	40	15	33
35	Mississippi	41.71	36	25	8
36	Texas	41.70	47	11	6
37	Alabama	41.29	26	51	3
38	Georgia	40.74	37	28	7
39	Florida	39.97	34	34	27
40	California	39.11	35	38	18
41	Virginia	39.08	46	13	35
42	Wisconsin	37.84	39	17	48
43	North Dakota	37.28	50	5	41
44	Iowa	35.36	45	30	25
45	Nebraska	34.76	48	22	28
46	Utah	34.68	44	33	26
47	South Dakota	33.62	51	19	24
48	Idaho	33.02	38	37	46
49	Kansas	32.78	43	35	37
50	Hawaii	26.62	42	50	50
51	Minnesota	26.11	49	43	49

Information https://wallethub.com/