Montana Ranks Among Top States for Drug Use in New Study

Montana Ranks Among Top States for Drug Use in New Study

Credit: Jonathan Gonzalez (Unsplash)

WalletHub put together a study that analyzed "Drug Use by State," ranking all 50 states from highest drug use to lowest drug use.

Drug abuse has a long and storied history in the United States, and we’ve been “at war” with it for decades. Yet despite the country’s best efforts to fight it, the problem is still prevalent. There were more than 68,400 drug overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in October 2025, according to the CDC. - Chip Lupo with WalletHub

Montana was well within the top half, coming in as the 13th highest drug use state.

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WalletHub's Methodology

WalletHub broke the study into 3 subcategories:

  1. Drug Use & Addiction Rank
    1. Share of Teenagers and Adults Who Used Illicit Drugs in the Past Month
    2. Teenagers Who Smoked Weed Before 13
    3. Number of Opioid Pain Reliever Prescriptions Per 100 People
  2. Law Enforcement
    1. Drug Arrests Per Capita
    2. Drug Arrests on College Campuses
    3. States With Employee Drug Testing Laws
  3. Drug Health Issues & Rehab
    1. Share of Adults Who Couldn't Get Treatment For Illicit Drug Use
    2. Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities Per 100,000 People Using Drugs
    3. Share of Medicaid Beneficiaries Treated For Substance Use Disorders

Montana's highest ranking was 11th in Drug Use & Addiction, followed by 21st in Law Enforcement and 28th in Drug Health Issues & Rehab. 

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New Mexico topped the list as the most drug addicted state, followed by Arkansas, Alaska, Nevada and Missouri.

Utah ranked lowest, followed by Florida, Minnesota, Maryland, and Iowa.

Source: WalletHub

Famous Montanans A-Z

We put together an A-Z guide of Famous Montanans. People count if they were born here, raised here, live here, went to school here, or have a substantial connection to Montana. We couldn't find an 'x' entry and we had to cheat on 'z' by using a first name. If you have any other recommendations, please let us know.
Filed Under: Montana, social post
Categories: Montana News

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