How bad is the drug use in North Dakota (Fargo: home, neighborhood)
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I hear all the time on the local news about drug use in North Dakota, mainly Meth, but is it really as bad as they say?
Also, how many people are actually using? Being a pretty conservative state, I would think that would be a low number.
Finally, besides Meth is anything else much of a problem? I could see Marijuana being used but things like Crack, Coke, Heroin and such...wouldn't that be extremely expensive (thus rarely used) in North Dakota (since we are in the north and far away from the coasts or Mexican boarder?
Perhaps I am just a bit sheltered in a good neighborhood so-to-speak, so that is why I may not see the problems as much as someone living down town Fargo may. I would think Fargo, Grand Forks, and Bismark being the major centers of any activity. Small towns I would think would be fairly dry of drugs (but hard on liquor).
Meth was huge a couple years ago...especially up in the Williston area. If fact, so much was being manufactured up there, out in the west coast, it had a name "williston snow". pretty sad...however...the good news, is Williston and North Dakota pretty much cleaned up the manufacturing because of the strong law enforcement and drug task forces. It wasn't unusal to see Williams county with a couple hundred meth labs shut down and a couple hundred arrests (within a year)...but today, the number of labs is nearly zilch... most drugs you find in ND are what you find in other rural states...pot, alcohol, speed...but not any worse than any other rural state. Still rather raise my kids in ND or rural midwestern state vs. over populated state.
Actually ND was never exceptionally bad for meth - California was higher http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k6/stateMeth/stateMeth.pdf But as said before, meth use has been plumeting in ND as it as in the rest of the country.
Also, you're actually going to have more meth in the small towns than you will in Fargo, Bismarck, & GF.
I'd be more worried about downtown random (very) small town than downtown Fargo.
I have been to my fair share of sketchy parties and have never personally seen anything other than alcohol and marijuana. No lies. I do know a few people who have tried meth though, they aren't addicted, and I don't know anything about any other drugs.
North Dakota and South Dakota are similar in drugs. Yes, there are going to be a few odd characters who chose to consume drugs. I think that if one looks for drugs, he or she would find it (although the drug distribution is not as organized in the Daktoas as it would be in the sunbelt and the coastal states, per se.) There are a few pockets where drugs are a problem and some of these areas are blantantly obvious and others where it is hidden in South Dakota. I am sure that it is similar in ND. The reservations are one area where drugs are bad and drugs are prevelant to some degree in the larger communties, although I have heard that some people in small towns managed to find drugs. It is often associated with younger people (often out of boredom or poor parental guidance), but there are more 40 and 50 year olds than I care to know who still use the crap (drugs). Alcoholism is more of a problem than drug use by a long shot. Drugs and the problems that tag along with in are not quite as severe in ND and SD as it is in many other parts of the nation.
i think compared to anywhere else in the country north dakota does not have a fraction of the drug use other places does! but i still believe there is a lot that we dont here about it as much as other places, i think with housing booms and oil booms brings drug booms with it!
Drug use in ND is very much under the radar. Basically, if you aren't looking for it, you will likely never notice it unless a friend or family member gets involved.
i don't mean to knock my home state, but ND has a well-earned reputation as being really, really boring. and you know what young people do when they get bored....get wasted! i'd say fargo has the most substance abuse (of any kind) in the state, likely because it is full of college kids. grand forks would be a close second. weed is always around between september and may. meth is always around but it seems to be gradually going away. alcohol is by far the most abused substance. seriously, ND parents, don't even worry about your kids smoking weed, it probably keeps them out more trouble than you think. you are lucky if that's all they get into. educate your kids about alcohol abuse. the drug problem in ND pales in comparison. it is officially the drunkest state in the union.
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