State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2006–2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health
Each week, the Higher Education Center showcases recent developments in the field of AOD abuse and violence prevention in higher education that may include new data and resources, upcoming events and programs, funding opportunities, and learning opportunities. To see a listing of previous This Week! features, visit the This Week! archive.
July 24, 2009
This report, providing state-by-state analyses of substance abuse and mental illness patterns, reveals that there are wide variations in the levels of problems like illicit drug use found among the states, but that every state suffers from these problems. For example, among those aged 12 and older, Iowa had less than half the current illicit drug use rate of Rhode Island (5.2 percent versus 12.5 percent)—yet Iowa’s population aged 12 and older also had one of the nation’s highest levels of people experiencing alcohol dependence or abuse in the past year (9.2 percent).
The report was developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) based on the 2006 and 2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Using data drawn from interviews with 135,672 persons from throughout the country, the report provides a state-by-state breakdown along 23 different measures of substance abuse and mental health problems, including illicit drug use, binge drinking, alcohol and illicit drug dependence, tobacco use, serious psychological distress, and major depressive episodes.
The report also provides valuable data on the changes occurring within each of the states during the time since the last report (drawn from the 2005 and 2006 NSDUH surveys).
The full report is available online at http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k7state/TOC.cfm. For related publications and information, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/