Every community wants to believe their home is a safe place where children can be free to enjoy life. The truth is, problems like addiction are everywhere — from the largest coastal city to the smallest southern town. If your family needs the professional support of an adolescent treatment center, you’re not alone.
Contact Foothills at Red Oak Recovery at 866.300.5275 to learn how we can help your teen overcome the most common addictions affecting teenagers today.
States with the Highest Rates of Addiction
Addiction does not recognize family status or state boundaries. It is a disorder that can affect any person, regardless of income, race, religion, or age. According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 20 million people in the U.S. reported experiencing a substance use disorder within the last year.
While the most common addictions can affect anyone, some states have higher rates of substance use than others. Unfortunately, many states with the highest addiction rates are in America’s southern region.
The following states have the highest addiction ranking:
- West Virginia
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Kentucky
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Indiana
- Tennessee
- Massachusetts
- Colorado
Many factors contribute to high substance use disorder rates, including drug access, poverty, the percentage of labor-intensive jobs with the potential for injury, and access to mental health care.
What Is the Most Common Addiction in the Southern United States?
The popularity and availability of different substances vary across the U.S. The role of physicians is one often-overlooked factor that contributes to which drugs are most commonly misused.
For example, if physicians in a certain region continue to view opioids as the best option for pain relief, that region may experience more opioid use disorders. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the region will experience more substance use overall.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opiate use has disproportionally affected people living in the Southeastern portion of the United States.
The most common addiction-related deaths are caused by opioids like oxycodone, methadone, and hydrocodone. Of the 25 U.S. cities most severely impacted by the opioid epidemic, 17 are in southern states. They include:
- Wilmington, NC
- Fayetteville, NC
- Hickory, NC
- Panama City, FL
- Gadsden, AL
- Baton Rouge, LA
- Charlottesville, VA
The rate of painkiller prescriptions in southern states, including Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, is the highest in the country. While opiate abuse is a nationwide problem, it has proven especially deadly in the southern states. The number of opiate deaths has quadrupled in the south since 1999.
What Is the Most Common Addiction by State?
While opioids and other painkillers pose the biggest substance use problem in the south, individual drug use varies in each state. By state, some of the most widely used substances include:
- Alabama: Marijuana is the most abused drug, followed closely by cocaine and opiates
- Florida: Marijuana and opiates
- Georgia: Cocaine
- Mississippi: Marijuana
- North Carolina: Marijuana, followed by cocaine
- South Caroline: Marijuana, methamphetamines, and opiates (prescription painkillers)
- Tennessee: Prescription opiates
What is the most common addiction overall? Nicotine use is the most commonly reported addiction issue in the U.S. That is followed by alcohol and marijuana. Prescription painkillers are the fourth most common addiction problem affecting American families.
Find Help for Addiction at Foothills at Red Oak Recovery
Foothills at Red Oak Recovery offers programming to address all types of addictions that affect adolescent boys. Our team has experience treating substance and alcohol use disorders, disordered eating, process addiction issues, and co-occurring disorders. Contact Foothills at Red Oak Recovery today at 866.300.5275 to learn more about treatment programs.
