INDIANA – 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. Yet despite the country’s best efforts to fight it, the problem is getting worse and is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were more than 88,000 drug overdose deaths in 2020, up around 27 percent from the previous year. In an effort to help bring these numbers down, the government included $4 billion for substance use and mental health programs in the American Rescue Plan stimulus.
With National Prevention Week in full swing, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Biggest Drug Problems, as well as accompanying videos, to highlight the areas that stand to be most affected.
This report attempts to answer those questions by comparing the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 21 key metrics, ranging from arrest and overdose rates to opioid prescriptions and employee drug testing laws.
This study compares the 50 states and the District in terms of 21 key metrics, ranging from arrest and overdose rates to opioid prescriptions and employee drug testing laws.
Drug Abuse & Prevention in Indiana (1=Biggest Problem; 25=Avg.):
- 19th – Share of Teenagers Who Used Illicit Drugs in the Past Month
- 20th – Share of Adults Who Used Illicit Drugs in the Past Month
- 9th – Opioid Pain Reliever Prescriptions per 100 People
- 19th – Drug Overdose Deaths per Capita
- 15th – Drug Arrests per Capita
- 7th – Share of Adults Who Couldn’t Get Treatment for Illicit Drug Use in the Past Year
To view the full report, click here.
