Arizona Drug Addiction Statistics

Arizona is home to the Grand Canyon, a natural wonder which people believe to be among the top seven in the world. So majestic is the canyon that it attracts over 5 million visitors every year. Apart from this magnificent site, Arizona prides itself in having Arizona State University, ranked as the best in the US when it comes to innovation and dedication excellence and accessibility. With such great feats to its name, you would think it is a picture-perfect state with no problems whatsoever. However, nothing is perfect under the sun, and Arizona has its share of weaknesses, and top of the list is its substance abuse problem.



More than 20 million people above twelve years old have a substance abuse problem in the United States. Though widespread, Arizona is one of the primary states where addiction to drugs and alcohol is prevalent. Matter of fact, it follows Texas in having the highest amount of drugs smuggled into the country. Of course, the fact that it is only 400 miles from the Mexican border, most especially Sonora renowned as the primary drug trafficking state, does not help its chances to be an exemption. Worse still, as the drug cartels fight to establish their territories, Arizona becomes the only favorable country where the illegal trade can continue, profitably.



Things look up when the students report they had tried to quit smoking cigarettes, with the number of females being 51% while the males were 46%. Such rates are encouraging since they are higher compared to the USA whose total percentage of those who had tried to quit stood at 45%. While one may blame parents may be for lack of supervision, the students go further to report that they bought their cigarettes at stores or gas stations. Well, maybe they spend their allowance on substance abuse instead of investing in profitable ventures. Perhaps we can blame it on their ignorance that they experiment with all modes of consumption. While 6% chewed or snuffed tobacco at least once 30 days before the survey took place, 28% used electronic vapor substances such as e-pipes, vaping pens and many more.



Still, on high school students, the 2015 report indicates that they also have a problem with alcohol, with 16% suggesting they had indulged into alcohol even before turning 13 years. While it may be too young to abuse alcohol, they went ahead to engage on habitual drinking with 35% admitting to taking an alcoholic drink at least once in the 30 days before the survey occurred. To high school kids, a sip here and there may not count as drinking alcohol but the addiction slowly kicks in, and 19% confessed to taking more than five drinks consecutively, in a couple of hours. What is unfortunate is that 9% still had the guts to drive a car after drinking alcohol, oblivious to the dangers that it could cause, including costing them their lives.



Besides alcohol and cigarettes, the survey gave conclusive evidence on the other drugs that Arizona adolescents had been abusing. Those who had used marijuana at one time in their lives were 43%, higher than the rest of the entire United States whose number was 39%. While marijuana is not legal in the States, the recent legalization in Canada might be a precursor to the widespread use of the drug. Cocaine is not far much behind the other drugs as 9% admit to using it in various forms at least once in their lifetimes. They even go further to use pain relievers for non-medical reasons, with 5% confessing to the habit.