Rhode Island Drug and Alcohol Addiction Statistics


Rhode Island has some of the highest rates of illicit drug use in the country. Over 11% of Rhode Islanders aged twelve and over currently use illicit drugs. This statistic is attributed to the location of the state – between New York City and Boston – that makes it fairly easy to obtain illicit substances.
Marijuana is the most common drug used in Rhode Island. Marijuana is decriminalized for possession in Rhode Island and is legal for medicinal use.
The second most common drug in Rhode Island is heroin, which is available throughout the state. Due to the prevalence of heroin, overdose deaths are also high within Rhode Island, as heroin is a drug associated with a high death rate. Cocaine and crack cocaine are also common in urban areas.

Rhode Island is third in the nation when it comes to percentage of residents who use alcohol at 66% of residents. This statistic is determined by adults who have had at least one alcoholic beverage in the past 30 days. Around 18% of adult Rhode Islanders reported binge drinking (having five or more alcoholic beverages) in the past 30 days, putting them at fifth in the nation. In keeping with this trend, Rhode Island is the state with the second highest rate of heavy drinkers (people who drink two or more drinks per day, on average) coming in at 7.3%.
When it comes to adolescent use, high school students are actually lower than countrywide statistics when it comes to prevalence of drinking and age of first drink. Only 16% of Rhode Island high school students reported having their first drink before age 13, compared with 20% nationally. Around 34% of high school students in Rhode Island had at least one alcoholic beverage within the past 30 days, lower than the national rate of 39%.

Rhode Island has a significantly lower than average rate of eating disorders at 2.8% of the population, whereas most states are around 3.3%. About two-and-a-half times as many women are diagnosed as men.
Rhode Island does not have any other behavioral disorder statistics that vary significantly from national norms.
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