New Jersey Has Highest Drug Abuse Averages, Drug Rehabs Report

Drug rehabs admit patients from all over the country, but one state seems to lead the charge in drug treatment center admissions—New Jersey. According to drug rehab statisticians, New Jersey’s heroin use among 18-25 year olds is more than twice the national average. Drug Treatment Centers from the east coast to the west coast are filled with addicts from the Garden State.

The most commonly used drug in New Jersey is marijuana, drug treatment centers report. However, a federally funded report shows that 5 percent of young adults have heroin habits. Nationally, heroin abuse among young adults is at an average of 2.5 percent.

Many drug rehabs attribute New Jersey’s growing heroin problem to the fact that the state has so many shipping ports. Additionally, the state’s population density and small size makes distribution easier than most other states in the country. Kane Caviola, a spokesman, states, "We're the first ones that get it. In New Jersey, the DEA (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration), along with other law enforcement and emergency rooms know that we have the best and cheapest heroin in the country."


Results of a recent household survey have prompted the state to open more methadone clinics.