Vermont ranked highest in the nation for illicit drug use in 2010 and 2011, according a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
National Surveys on Drug Use and Health data from 2010 and 2011 indicate that about 15 percent of Vermonters age 12 and older used illicit drugs in the 30 days before responding to the survey, the highest percentage in the country.
The survey defined illicit drugs to include marijuana, hashish, cocaine, crack, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants or prescription-type psychotherapeutics used nonmedically.
When excluding marijuana from the category of illicit drug use, Vermont still ranks the highest in the 30 days before the survey. For young adults, ages 18 to 26, this percentage tops the list at 18 percent.
Barbara Cimaglio, deputy commissioner for alcohol and drug abuse programs for the Vermont Department of Health, said when analyzing retrospective data, it is important to look at trends and not necessarily moments in time.
She said nonmedical pain reliever use has remained steady since the early 2000s. Some studies show a decline, she said.
However, Cimaglio said marijuana use has significantly increased between 2002 and 2011 in the state.
According to the survey, about 13 percent of Vermonters age 12 and older reported using marijuana during the 30 days prior to responding. This number jumps to 46 percent for young adults, again the highest percentage in the country, just ahead of Colorado.
Young adults, she said, are an age group that is most likely to experiment with drugs.
“That is the population where you see the greatest use,” Cimaglio said. “Young people are more prone to experimenting with everything, so it’s not surprising that we see higher numbers.”
Vermont’s high drug use could be related to its location between several major cities, such as Montreal, New York City and Boston, she said, because the state is on the drug traffic route to and from these cities.
“It’s likely that we are getting some of that spillover from people trafficking between those cities,” she said.
On the bright side, she said that alcohol consumption has remained steady and binge drinking has declined over the past decade.
Also, Vermonters are not as hooked on cigarettes as the rest of the nation, ranking midway with about 22 percent of the respondents reporting having smoked in the past month. About 28 percent reported using tobacco products.
