Missouri ranks 'high' in drug study, but monitoring law could help

A new report released Tuesday ranks Missouri as having one of the nation's "biggest drug problems."

The report, based on a study by the personal finance website WalletHub, said only West Virginia and the District of Columbia have more serious issues with drug abuse and prevention than Missouri.

However, supporters of legislation to create a statewide drug monitoring system believe it could help curb abuse of prescription drugs, which would, in turn, improve Missouri's ranking as having the third-worst drug problem in the nation.

The Missouri General Assembly on Tuesday passed Senate Bill 63, sponsored by 27th District Sen. Holly Rehder (R-Scott City), which calls for creation of a prescription drug-monitoring program (PDMP) as a means of curbing the abuse of certain controlled substances.

"Having a statewide PDMP will help physicians and pharmacists identify patients who 'pill shop' and help stop the abuse that impacts so many Missouri families and workplaces," Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry president and CEO Daniel Mehan said in a statement shortly after the bill's passage.

"This legislation will help prevent deaths and address the trends of addiction in our state," he said. "We applaud Sen. Rehder on her years of leadership and commitment to this issue."

Release of the WalletHub report coincides with National Prevention Week, May 9 to 15, established by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to raise awareness of substance abuse and mental health issues.

The WalletHub study compared Missouri to the other 49 states and the District of Columbia on 21 key metrics ranging from arrest and overdose rates to opioid prescriptions and employee drug testing laws.

The study was based on data collected between 2018 and 2021 from a number of sources including SAMHSA, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FBI, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and others.

"Drug abuse has a long and storied history in the United States, and we've been 'at war' with it since 1971 under the Nixon administration," said WalletHub managing editor John Kiernan. "Yet despite the country's best efforts to fight it, the problem is getting worse, and is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic."

There were more than 88,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2020, approximately 27% more than in 2019, he said.

According to the WalletHub report, Missouri had the fourth highest number of drug arrests per capita during the study period, along with the 12th most opioid pain reliever prescriptions per 100 people. The state also ranked 17th for drug overdose deaths per capita, and had the 22nd highest share of teenagers who tried marijuana before the age of 13.

The 21 metrics used to develop the study were divided into three main categories -- law enforcement, drug use and addiction, and drug health issues and rehabilitation.

In addition to drug arrests per capita, the law enforcement category also looked at drug arrests on college campuses per 1,000 students, whether each state had prescription drug monitoring laws, maternity drug laws in each state, and states with employee drug testing laws. Based on those metrics, the report said Missouri had the most significant drug law enforcement problem in the nation.

Missouri was also ranked the 12th worst in terms of the availability of substance abuse treatment programs and facilities and ranked 25th for overall drug use and addiction, which factored in drug abuse deaths during the study period.

Among neighboring states, the study ranked Kentucky as the state with the 10th worst drug problem, Tennessee 15th, Arkansas 19th, and Illinois 32nd. Iowa, Idaho, Minnesota, Utah and Hawaii were ranked as the five states with the least problems related to drug and substance abuse.

The full report and study findings are available online at www.wallethub.com/edu/drug-use-by-state/35150.