Wisconsin Drug Statistics

Devoted football fans, all-American pride and great food play a dominant role in no place else quite like Wisconsin. This state has the best activities, best sports teams, best colleges and everyone cherishes family fun. A hard day’s work is always rounded out with lots of love and laughter. Almost every district in Michigan struggles with alcoholism and drug abuse. Many families buckle under the pressure that addiction causes. It can be easy to lose sight of hope, but Palm Partners Recovery Center can carry the weight and help make it better.  We personalize our drug detox and alcohol recovery programs for every client to ensure effectiveness. Contact Palm Partners Recovery Center today. An addiction specialist is waiting for your call.

Data shows that those 18 and older particularly need – and aren’t receiving – alcohol detox and rehab in Wisconsin. If you’re using and abusing, call Palm Partners Addiction Detox and Rehab now for immediate help: 608-352-3069. Get into the right facility and transform your life. Our professionals are standing by, 24/7.

What you should know

The drug threat in Wisconsin varies by area. Of concern in eastern and central Wisconsin are the availability, distribution and abuse of powder and crack cocaine as well as the increasing availability of high-purity heroin. Marijuana is the most readily available and most widely abused drug throughout Wisconsin.

Three groups dominate transportation and wholesale distribution of drugs: Mexican drug trafficking organizations transport cocaine, marijuana and meth; Nigerian criminal groups distribute Southwest Asian heroin; Dominican criminal groups distribute cocaine and South American heroin. On the street, loosely organized African-American and Hispanic gangs distribute drugs, especially crack.

Compared to other states

• Illicit drugs overall – moderately high for those 18-25, moderately low for those 26 and older
• Cocaine – among the highest for those 26 and older, moderately high for those 18-25
• Alcohol – among the highest for those 18-25, moderately high for those 26 and older
• Marijuana – moderately high for those 18-25, moderately low for those 26 and older
• Pharmaceuticals – average for those 18-25, moderately low for those 26 and older

Source: SAMHSA’s most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health, based on 2008-2009 annual averages. SAMHSA is the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A closer look

Cocaine

Both cocaine and crack widely available. Mexican drug organizations transport large shipments from the Southwest Border through Chicago or to Milwaukee directly in tractor-trailers.

Alcohol

A very significant problem.

Marijuana

Most readily available and most widely used drug. Milwaukee and Madison are major transshipment points for Mexico-produced marijuana shipped to other areas in the state.

Pharmaceuticals

Oxycodone and hydrocodone products, benzodiazepines commonly abused. So, too, are Ritalin, Dilaudid, methadone and Percocet. Sources are the illegal sale and distribution by health care professionals and workers, “doctor shopping,” forged prescriptions and the internet.

Heroin

Mostly in Milwaukee and Racine. Southwest Asian and South American heroin are primarily abused. Brown heroin has limited availability, while black tar is rarely seen.

Methamphetamine

Declining. What is found is mostly in the western part of the state near the border of Iowa and Minnesota.

Club drugs

Limited. MDMA (Ecstasy), ketamine, GHB, GBL and LSD are seen at low levels.

Prescription Drug Abuse in WI

Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States right now. In 2007-2008, Wisconsin was one of the top ten states for high rates in several different drug categories – including prescription drug abuse.  One in five teens has dabbled in prescription drug abuse. Nationwide, prescription drug use averages 1.5 prescriptions per month for all Americans under age 65 and almost 4 per month for Americans over age 65.3 In Wisconsin, 5.5 million prescriptions were dispensed each month in 2009, this includes all prescription medications as well as prescription refills. Between 2007 and 2008, 15% of Wisconsin adults reported using pain relievers for non-medical purposes. In 2009, 20.5% of Wisconsin high school students reported ever taking a prescription drug (such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Adderall, Ritalin, or Xanax) without a doctor’s prescription.

Synthetic Drug Abuse in WI

Synthetic drug abuse has been on the rise across the entire country not excluding Wisconsin. Synthetic drugs are drugs such as spice, K2 and bath salts. The reason these substances get coined as synthetic drugs are because they are chemically manufactured to replicate the same affects as other drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines. In WI, a law was passed last July to ban these compounds, and many communities have followed with the passage of local ordinances.  In most states due to dangerous effects of synthetic drugs they are now illegal or banned.

Methamphetamine drug abuse in WI

The production of methamphetamine and its use are spreading wider from Iowa and Minnesota into Wisconsin. Methamphetamine that is available in Wisconsin has come from Mexico, brought in through California and other Southwest states.

Methamphetamine related mentions of emergency department visits were largely concentrated on the West Coast in 1993 with an eastward spread beginning to show. By 2001, reports from the Midwest eastward had jumped from 358 in 1993 to 788 in 2001.

• About 3.3% of students reported using methamphetamine one or more times during their life.
• In 2006, there were 22 meth-related arrests.
• There were 23 lab incidents in 2010.
• There were 289 treatment admissions for methamphetamine abuse in 2009, 1.0% of all drug abuse admissions.

Sources:

http://www.scaoda.state.wi.us/docs/meetings/CSWFINAL082211.pdf

http://csg-web.csg.org/knowledgecenter/docs/TA0403RuralMeth.pdf

Percentage of Wisconsin population using/abusing drugs

¹ Age group is based on a respondent’s age at the time of the interview, not his or her age at first use.

² Illicit Drugs include marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants or prescription-type psychotherapeutics used non-medically. Illicit Drugs Other Than Marijuana include cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants or prescription-type psychotherapeutics used non-medically.

³ When the Perception of Great Risk in using marijuana or alcohol is low, use of marijuana or alcohol is high.

⁴ Binge Alcohol Use is defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion (i.e., at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other) on at least 1 day in the past 30 days.

⁵ Dependence or abuse is based on definitions found in the 4^th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).

⁶ Needing But Not Receiving Treatment refers to respondents needing treatment for illicit drugs or alcohol, but not receiving treatment at a specialty facility.

⁷ Major Depressive Episode is a period of at least 2 weeks when a person experienced a depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities and had a majority of the symptoms for depression as described in the DSM-IV.

Source: Condensed version of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2004 and 2005, from SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies.