Is drug usage low in Utah?

[osugirl2]

Drug usage is not an easy thing to measure. If u use the previous stats you're assuming that everyone who does drugs seeks out help. You can't really use hospital and rehab stays as a complete measure because not every drug user goes. Some people only engage is social or occassional drug use. Unfortunately, due to friends, I have some personal experiences in this area.

[hilgi]

Originally Posted by osugirl2

Drug usage is not an easy thing to measure. If u use the previous stats you're assuming that everyone who does drugs seeks out help. You can't really use hospital and rehab stays as a complete measure because not every drug user goes. Some people only engage is social or occassional drug use. Unfortunately, due to friends, I have some personal experiences in this area.

I think stats are stats, if you have .2% of the population admitted to hospitals for drug related problems and .4% in another city, it gives you an idea of the problem. So if one city has 10% of the population using drugs odds are the hospital admittance will be higher due to more OD's and accidents, ect. as compared to a city where 5% use drugs.

My main point is, no one is providing facts, only opinions.

[dcisive]

The irony is that Utah Co. has the highest Meth use issues of all the counties in Utah. I'm in the security business and talk to officers all the time. Kind of sad really. I have a friend whose sister has a heroin addiction down in Payson, yeah who would have thunk it possible. Beautiful sleepy little Payson. Santaquin is another hot spot which I would have never suspected. One fully expects the drug deals in Glendale, West Valley City, Taylorsville and Kearns, but not those sleepy little spots down south. Oh well............

[markg91359]

This is is complicated and a bit hard to read. However, it says that the useage rate of illegal drugs in Utah is less than all but two states, North Dakota and Texas. So, we are third lowest in the country.

Tables of Model-Based Estimates, State Estimates from the 2005-2006 NSDUH, SAM

[osugirl2]

Originally Posted by hilgi

I think stats are stats, if you have .2% of the population admitted to hospitals for drug related problems and .4% in another city, it gives you an idea of the problem. So if one city has 10% of the population using drugs odds are the hospital admittance will be higher due to more OD's and accidents, ect. as compared to a city where 5% use drugs.

My main point is, no one is providing facts, only opinions.

i

It is a fact that not everyone seeks help for drug related problems. Some people die before they get that help, others don't feel they have problems because they only engage in causal use...... some people clean up cold turkey and don't get professional help because they can't afford it or don't think that they need it. It's a fact, I've seen it with my own two eyes on many many occassions with different people

[hilgi]

Thank you Mark! Actuall numbers.

OSU,

The stats aren’t about everyone seeking help, it is all percentages. First, if you are passed out OD'd, or crashed in your car you don't have a lot of say if you end up in the hospital. Second lets assume only 10% of addicts seek help, if that turns into only .2% of our population and .5% in another state, they have the bigger drug problem.

[osugirl2]

Hilgi,

I'm not saying that those statistics are inaccurate or not usable to a point. Like I said in my earlier post, they are not a complete measure of the problem. You can't rely on those statistics alone to project the whole drug problem.

[golightlygirl]

ok gang,
Lets put it this way. When I debated moving my kids to St George, UT or rural coastal Georgia, the "drug issue" was a biggie for me. Yes, there is drug usage in Utah. Is it a problem? Yes! But, I do not drive at night seeing people on the side of the road flicking their lighters to sell drugs like I did in Eulonia, GA.

I worked at a re-hab center here. Most of the clients were meth/heroin people. The reason why we have so many re-habs here is, because for the adults, its beautiful, peaceful and offers lots of outside activities. For the kids Utah doesn't give the kids as many rights as other states. Now before everyone starts screamng about the kid rights thing, thats what I was told by a recruiter for on of the many troubled kids schools in this area.

I guess my bottom line is...
Is there drug use in Utah? You bettcha. But, from my experience it is not open or obvious. I know its in the schools, however it is not the norm. No one standing on the side of the road flicking their bics