America has been fighting a war on drugs for decades, and the fight continues to this day. The primary target of today? Heroin. No other drug has risen in popularity more. In the past decade, heroin overdoses in the United States have skyrocketed, and the trend is showing no signs of slowing down.
The sheer volume of reported overdoses is staggering. Recent figures show that the demographic group with the largest increase in heroin use has been whites. With this troubling trend in mind, HealthGrove decided to examine the issue at the state level.
Using data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, we identified the 23 states that have seen the largest percentage increase in reported patients admitted to rehab clinics for heroin use from 2002 to 2012.
*Note: 10 states — Arizona, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming — did not have data available, so they are not included in this list.
#23. New York
Total 2002 admits: 54,393
Total 2012 admits: 57,628
Percent increase: +5.9 percent
#22. Nevada
Total 2002 admits: 667
Total 2012 admits: 735
Percent increase: +10.2 percent
#21. Delaware
Total 2002 admits: 1,874
Total 2012 admits: 2,108
Percent increase: +12.5 percent
#20. Virginia
Total 2002 admits: 1,472
Total 2012 admits: 1,686
Percent increase: +14.5 percent
#19. Massachusetts
Total 2002 admits: 35,701
Total 2012 admits: 40,994
Percent increase: +14.8 percent
#18. Texas
Total 2002 admits: 3,929
Total 2012 admits: 4,671
Percent increase: +18.9 percent
#17. Maine
Total 2002 admits: 602
Total 2012 admits: 764
Percent increase: +26.9 percent
#16. Michigan
Total 2002 admits: 7,425
Total 2012 admits: 10,788
Percent increase: +45.3 percent
#15. Kansas
Total 2002 admits: 39
Total 2012 admits: 63
Percent increase: +61.5 percent
#14. Oklahoma
Total 2002 admits: 114
Total 2012 admits: 186
Percent increase: +63.2 percent
#13. Washington
Total 2002 admits: 2,113
Total 2012 admits: 3,948
Percent increase: +86.8 percent
#12. Utah
Total 2002 admits: 920
Total 2012 admits: 1,820
Percent increase: +97.8 percent
#11. Arkansas
Total 2002 admits: 18
Total 2012 admits: 39
Percent increase: +116.7 percent
#10. Ohio
Total 2002 admits: 4,325
Total 2012 admits: 9,515
Percent increase: +120 percent
#9. North Carolina
Total 2002 admits: 848
Total 2012 admits: 1,869
Percent increase: +120.4 percent
#8. South Dakota
Total 2002 admits: 7
Total 2012 admits: 30
Percent increase: +328.6 percent
#7. Nebraska
Total 2002 admits: 20
Total 2012 admits: 94
Percent increase: +370 percent
#6. Minnesota
Total 2002 admits: 775
Total 2012 admits: 4,089
Percent increase: +427.6 percent
#5. Indiana
Total 2002 admits: 66
Total 2012 admits: 410
Percent increase: +521.2 percent
#4. Oregon
Total 2002 admits: 4,421
Total 2012 admits: 39,051
Percent increase: +783.3 percent
#3. Missouri
Total 2002 admits: 249
Total 2012 admits: 4,065
Percent increase: +1,532.5 percent
#2. Alaska
Total 2002 admits: 11
Total 2012 admits: 197
Percent increase: +1,690.9 percent
#1. Kentucky
Total 2002 admits: 65
Total 2012 admits: 1,282
Percent increase: +1,872.3 percent
