Minnesota At-a-Glance: Approximately 6.97 percent of Minnesota residents reported past-month use of illicit drugs; the national average was 8.82 percent. Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) 2009-2010. The number of drug-induced deaths in Minnesota was below the national average. Marijuana is the most commonly cited drug among primary drug treatment admissions in Minnesota. In 2011, 19 percent of treatment admissions were for non-heroin opiates (including prescription drugs) and 18 percent of treatment admissions were for stimulants. In 2011, primary drug treatment admissions in Minnesota for heroin surpassed admissions for cocaine.

Drug Use in Minnesota: The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provides national and state-level data on the use of tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs (including non-medical use of prescription drugs), and mental health in the United States. In the most recent survey, 6.97 percent of Minnesota residents reported using illicit drugs in the past month. The national average was 8.82 percent. Additionally, 2.84 percent of Minnesota residents reported using an illicit drug other than marijuana in the past month (the national average was 3.6 percent).
Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration – State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2009–2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Drug-Induced Deaths: As a direct consequence of drug use, 441 persons died in Minnesota in 2009. This is compared to the number of persons in Minnesota who died from motor vehicle accidents (490) and firearms (336) in the same year. Minnesota drug-induced deaths (8.4 per 100,000 population) were lower than the national rate (12.8 per 100,000).
Minnesota has been hit hard with opioid deaths and fatal heroin overdoses. In 2014, 306 people died from opioid overdoses and the same year 413 people had their lives cut short due to fatal heroin overdoses. Minnesota addiction statistics and national trends are provided to help understand the scope and consequences that addiction can have if left unchecked. Marijuana use throughout the state of Minnesota is listed in percentages of the population of Minnesota statistics provided BY SAMHSA. 6.21% of the population of Minnesota in the age group 12 -17 reportedly used marijuana last month and 7.74% of the population over 18 has been reported by SAMHSA to have used marijuana in the past month. Cocaine use in Minnesota for the fiscal year 2015 for age groups between 12-17 years old is at .57% and for those over the age of 18 is at 1.62% and there is a need for concern for Minnesota residents. Heroin use in Minnesota for the age group 12-17 is estimated to be 0.11% of the population for that age group and is estimated at .37% of the populous over 18 in the state. Alcohol use in Minnesota statistics have been gathered for the fiscal year 2015 by SAMHSA are an estimate and within a 95% confidence rate for the survey. It is estimated that 10.71% of the age group 12-17 has used alcohol in the past month and 64.42% of the population over age 18 have had alcohol in the past year. Minnesota residents that have had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year reported by SAMHSA detail only those over the age of 18, with 4.07% of the population having serious thoughts of suicide.

Sources
Minnesota Drug Stats
SAMHSA
Brief Interventions
Evidence-Based Psychosocial Interventions in Substance Use
National Academy of Medicine
Recovery Support

Erik Epp – Content Author