America has a big problem with drugs. Unfortunately, stories of drug busts or drug overdoses are pretty much a nightly occurrence on the news. The epidemic has also hit right here at home in New York state.

COVID-19 only exacerbated the problem the past few years, as more drug overdoses were reported across the country. According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, drug overdoses increased by 28.5% from 2020 to April 2021.

See Also: Police Say Orange County Man Busted For 139 Bags of Heroin/Fentanyl

But how bad is the drug problem in the New York state? How do we compare to other states?

Fentanyl Stats Across New York State 

The DEA’s New York Division reports that they seized 1.9 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills and 1,958 pounds of fentanyl which is the equivalent of 72 million lethal doses in 2022. Their numbers say that is a 152% increase from 2021 alone.

The CDC says that fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.

The Study on Drug Use in New York

WalletHub has put together the statistics, using the data taken from three key categories; 1) Drug Use & Addiction, 2) Law Enforcement and 3) Drug Health Issues & Rehab. These categories contained 21 different metrics.

The Results 

Source: WalletHub

Overall, New York was right around the middle of the pack for drug use.

We ranked 28th in the nation, according to the study. If you break it down even further, New York has some of the fewest amounts of opioid prescriptions per 100 people, according to the study.

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By comparison, Massachusetts was 15th overall, and Vermont 17th. Pennsylvania was 30th, and New Jersey 35th.

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