The rate of young adults in New Hampshire with substance-abuse problems is the highest in the country, even as the Granite State is the worst at providing treatment when they need it.
Research suggests that 7.4 percent of 18-to-25-year-olds in the Granite State abuse or are dependent on illicit drugs, more than in any other state.
At the same time, no state spends less on substance-abuse programs, with nearly nine percent of young adults who seek out addiction treatment forced to wait for it.
That was just some of the data presented at an all day symposium on substance abuse at Dartmouth College on Thursday.
The event featured presentations by more than a dozen experts in health care, addiction and law enforcement, who documented both the rise in heroin and prescription drug-related deaths and the need for more resources to meet the demand for substance-abuse treatment.
The conference was co-sponsored by the New England Institute of Addiction Studies and the Governor's Commission on Drug Prevention, Treatment and Recovery.
