South Dakota is above average in the United States for alcohol addiction. A new study discovered that 58.3 percent of 7000 adults surveyed say they have consumed one or more alcoholic drinks in the last month. That number is almost four percent higher than the rest of the country. It is an alarming fact and a concern for addiction counselors in the state.
"Alcoholism is clearly number one. Alcohol is available, accessible, it’s legal for adults and so there’s a lot of reasons why that’s going to continue to be the top problem we deal with," said Ben Granville, an addiction counselor at the Keystone Treatment Center.
"A lot of people, they drink and they become almost a different person," Granville said. "They get into fights or they do things like acts of domestic violence." The trend is disturbing, especially as the side effects from alcohol abuse have negative social consequences.
"It’s okay to go to a sporting event and have alcohol. It’s gotten to be such an important part of who we are as a culture that it’s concerning for us."
Neighboring states have higher alcohol consumption rates than South Dakota. Iowa has 58.8 percent of people consuming alcohol and Minnesota has 63.3 percent. The highest rate in the country is Wisconsin with 66.6 percent of the population drinking alcohol.
