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North Dakota has 5th smallest drug problem in the US

According to a recent study, North Dakota has the 5th smallest drug problem in the country.

The study was completed by WalletHub, a personal finance website. It compared each state against several different factors, including arrest and overdose rates as well as opioid prescriptions and drug testing laws. Jill Gonzalez is an analyst for WalletHub. She says North Dakota ranked toward the bottom when it came to teenagers and adults using illicit drugs. She also says the state ranks toward the bottom in opioid prescriptions and deaths by drug overdose. One thing she said North Dakota could improve upon was its laws and tools for law enforcement to better combat the issue.

"North Dakota could definitely improve the most in terms of law enforcement. Right now it does not have prescription drug monitoring laws; we're looking for states that have prescription drug monitoring laws that require doctors to consult and opioid prescription database before prescribing them. So that's what North Dakota should be working toward."

Gonzalez also says North Dakota ranked last for the amount of drug treatment facilities per 100,000 people using illicit drugs.