For National Alcohol and Drug Recovery Month, five newspapers in Wyoming have been exploring how we are doing as a State and where we need to improve. The series is available here. The Rawlings Times focused on the link between drug and alcohol abuse and crime.
According to the story, 80% of those arrested and jailed in the state have been using drugs or alcohol. Of course, this doesn’t mean that one causes the other, but there does seem to be a strong association.
The top contender isn’t even our most popular “hard” drug. It’s alcohol. About 70% of those arrested have been drinking. Meth, the scourge of Wyoming, only comes in at 2.5% and all illegal drugs barely top 10%. There is some overlap. Just because someone has been drinking, it doesn’t mean they can’t be on something else as well. Methamphetamine is popular with alcohol – the meth allows someone to drink to excess without passing out.
Interestingly, when people are surveyed about the drugs they use, marijuana comes in second only to alcohol, but it hardly ranks at all on the “intoxicated when arrested” scale. It may be that those smoking weed just don’t have the energy to go out and get themselves busted. Prescription drugs are about as popular as meth, and if we follow trends elsewhere in the country, rx abuse will soon surpass meth.
As far as medical marijuana goes, don’t expect to see it here soon. Recently, legislators turned the idea down.
The overall picture is one where alcohol is still king when it comes to getting yourself arrested. Followed thereafter by meth and prescription drugs. Nice menu there. As the paper points out, the mix makes for a difficult problem. Each of these substances requires a different approach in law enforcement and treatment.
