In a recent study by wallethub.com, Tennessee came in 11th overall for drug use problems, and 3rd in Opioid Overuse, Overdose Deaths and Drug Arrests per Capita. Illicit drug use is an issue the country has been fighting since the 1970s, but the war on drugs is a never-ending battle. New drugs like fentanyl are simply the newest killing machines developed by the enemy.
Wallet Hub’s report, “Drug Use by State: 2023 Problem Areas” offers an attempt to locate problem states by comparing all 50 states and the District of Columbia “across 20 key metrics, ranging from arrest and overdose rates to opioid prescriptions and employee drug testing laws.” Tennessee is one of those problem states.
There were more than 100,000 deaths attributed to an overdose in 2022 in the United States. According to White House figures released in January 2023, 148,594 pounds of illicit drugs were confiscated by law enforcement in the third quarter of 2022 alone, with a street value of more than $2 billion.