Oregon Has 6th Biggest Drug Problem in U.S.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017
GoLocalPDX News Team

Oregon has one of the biggest drug problems in the United States. 

According to a recent study done by WalletHub, Oregon has the 6th biggest drug problem in the country. 

“The number of people who admit to ever using an illicit drug actually rose from 1979 (31.3%) to 2015 (48.8%), according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Annual overdose deaths have more than tripled from 2000 (17,415) to 2015 (52,404). And over 11 times more people were in prisons and jails for drug offenses in 2015 (469,545) than in 1980 (40,900), according to The Sentencing Project,” said WalletHub. 

Oregon’s Rankings: 

• 10th Highest - Drug Use and Addiction 
• 13th Highest - Law Enforcement 
• 10th highest - Drug Health Issues and Rehab Rank 
• 4th highest - Percentage of teenage drug users 

The Rankings 

Oregon ranks behind Delaware and Rhode Island, who rank 4th and 5th respectively. Oregon ranks ahead of Connecticut and Arizona, who rank 7th and 8th respectively. 

District of Columbia has the biggest drug problem in the United States, while Idaho has the smallest drug problem. 

See the full rankings in the map below. 

The Method

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 15 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the biggest drug problem.

WalletHub then calculated the total score for each state and the District, using the weighted average across all metrics. 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

• Percentage of Teenagers Who Used Illicit Drugs in the Past Month: Triple Weight (~11.54 Points)
• Percentage of Teenagers Who Tried Marijuana Before Age 13 Years: Full Weight (~3.85 Points)
• Percentage of Teenagers Who Were Offered, Sold, Or Given An Illegal Drug On School Property in the Past Year: Full Weight (~3.85 Points)
• Percentage of Adults Who Used Illicit Drugs in the Past Month: Triple Weight (~11.54 Points)
• Number of Opioid Pain Reliever Prescriptions per 100 People: Full Weight (~3.85 Points)
• Number of Methamphetamine Lab Incidents (population adj): Full Weight (~3.85 Points)
• Number of Overdose Deaths per Capita: Double Weight (~7.69 Points)
• Overdose Deaths Growth (2015 vs 2014): Full Weight (~3.85 Points)

Law Enforcement – Total Points: 25

• Number of Drug Arrests per Capita: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
• Number of Drug Arrests on College Campuses per 1,000 Students: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
• Prescription Drug Monitoring Laws: Full Weight (~6.25 Points)
• Maternity Drug Policy (Is Substance Abuse During Pregnancy a Crime?): Full Weight (~6.25 Points)

Drug Health Issues & Rehab – Total Points: 25

• Percentage of Adults Who Needed But Didn’t Receive Treatment for Illicit Drug Use in the Past Year: Double Weight (~10.00 Points)
• Number of Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities per 100,000 People (12 Years and Older) Using Illicit Drugs: Full Weight (~5.00 Points)
• Number of Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment Services per 100,000 People (12 Years and Older) Using Illicit Drugs: Double Weight (~10.00 Points)