Wyoming Rated 21st in Nation For Illegal Drug Problems

A survey by the Wallethub website rates Wyoming as the 21st worst state out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia for drug problems.

West Virginia was rated the worst in the country, while Minnesota was rated as having the least severe drug problem. You can see the entire survey here. Wyoming was a mixed bag in the survey.

The Cowboy State was rated second highest in the nation for drug arrests per capita, trailing only our neighbors in South Dakota. On the other hand, Wyoming had the lowest number of teenage drug users in the entire nation, scoring 51st in that category. Wyoming also tied Utah and North Dakota for having the highest availability of treatment facilities per 100,000 drug users.

Overall Wyoming was ranked 40th for drug use and addiction. with one being the highest and 51 the lowest. Wyoming was rated 30 for ''drug health issues and rehab.'' But the high number of drug arrests per capita helped push Wyoming higher in the survey than would have otherwise been the case.

According to the website, the nation's drug problem as a whole is getting worse:

There were over 100,000 drug overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in April 2021, up 28.5% from the previous year. It’s crucial for the government to address this issue and prevent it from getting any worse.

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. 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.