Washington State Has A Drug Problem, But How Bad Is It?

In today's data driven world we compile numbers from an increasing number of sources to use as a barometer regarding nearly everything.  One of the areas where that barometer is closely watched is drug use.  It's no secret that drug use has been a problem since before President Nixon declared a "war" on them in 1971.

Nothing has really seemed to stem the tide, so the war turned into more of a management program.  How can we treat the issue instead of simply dealing with it as a criminal matter, especially after the rise in prescription related addiction.

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We hear plenty about the drug problems in Washington State.  According to State Department of Health data, between 2019 and 2021, opioid related deaths doubled in our state (827 to 1619).  If you go back to 2007 and look at the 15 year period to 2021, over 17,500 people died of a drug overdose with almost 70% of those opioid related.

Our friends at Wallethub.com dove into drug data nationwide to determine what states had the biggest drug problems.  It may surprise you where Washington State landed based on their methodology.  They looked at 20 metrics across 3 categories to measure all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  Roll over the map below to see where Washington State ranks.

18 out of 51 doesn't sound like we have as bad a drug problem as we keep hearing right?  Well, that does put us in the top half for biggest drug problems, so that's not great, but it also is a statewide snapshot, not a county by county snapshot.  The data for 2023 for the State Dept. of Health shows the county by county dilemma.

I want to get back to the Wallethub data because we are riding a pretty steep rollercoaster according to them.  This is how the metrics played out for Washington State's ranking.

Drug Use & Addiction

We are 5th in the nation for use and addiction.  That puts us behind New Mexico, Alaska, our neighbors to the south in Oregon, and Nevada.  The set of rankings below should really raise an eyebrow based on how much money the state claims they are spending on addiction treatment.

We are fifth in the nation in percentage of adult drug users, along with being fifth in the nation for the amount of treatment centers per 100,000 users.  We are only 48th in the nation in people RECEIVING treatment in all of those facilities.  So much for the deferment programs and resources being spent on getting people into treatment.  We are scraping bottom in fighting this battle.

Law Enforcement

This number shouldn't shock anyone.  We are 48th in the country in this category.  The Blake Decision didn't help matters in 2021, and even though lawmakers "fixed it" in 2023, it wasn't much of an improvement.  The data below is even more indicative of how bad the issue of enforcement is in the state.

We are dead last in arrests per capita.  South Dakota, population under 925,000, arrests 12 times as many people per capita as we do in a state of nearly 8 million.  Arrests can lead to deferment into treatment, so the amazingly low number of drug arrests may contribute to the amazingly low number of people receiving treatment in our state.

Drug Health Issues & Rehab

Washington State falls middle of the pack in this category at 23.  This category factored in treatment programs and facilities, as well as the number of counselors along with the number of Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.  The results show we have a lot of work to do, but it also raises the question of how much do the people in power want to do to fix it?  To see all of the data and pour over Wallethub.com's methodology, click here.