Maine Drug Statistics and Facts

• About 16,000 adolescents in Maine used an illegal drug in the last month; 13,000 used Marijuana, and 6,000 used an illegal drug other than Marijuana.
• Rates of alcohol abuse and addiction in Maine have been changing over time but have remained close to the national rates for the population age of 12 and older.
• In 2009, there were 14,605 people admitted to drug and alcohol rehabilitation for substance abuse in Maine facilities
• In 2007 and 2008, Maine was 1 of the top 10 states for rates in several drug-use categories, including last month illicit drug use among adolescent age 18 to 25, last month Marijuana use within people age 12 and older, and past-year Cocaine use within young adults age 18 to 25.
• In the most recent survey, (2007 and 2008) 9.09 percent of Maine residents reported using illicit drugs in the previous month while the national average was 8.02 percent. Additionally, 2.98 percent of Maine residents reported using an illegal drug other than Marijuana in the last month (the national average was 3.58 percent).
• In 2009, there were 4,207, people who went to rehabilitation for alcohol as the primary drug and 2,545 people admitted for alcohol addiction combined with a secondary substance, in Maine.
• According to the Treatment Episode Data Set, in 2009, people admitted to drug rehabilitation for substance abuse for opiates, not including Heroin, was 4,434. Of this number, 52.1 percent were male, and 47.9 percent were female, in Maine.
• In Maine, the number of people who entered treatment for the use of Heroin in 2009 was 1,362. 58.2 percent were male, and 41.8 percent were female, and 95.2 percent of this population were White.
• The number of individuals, in Maine, admitted to treatment for the use of Marijuana in 2009 was 1,232. Of the amount of people, 73 percent were male, and 27 percent were female, and the largest age group of this number of people who went to treatment was the 12 to 17 year old population at 30.5 percent.
• In Maine, as a direct consequence of drug use, 161 people died in 2007. That is compared to the number of people in Maine who died from car accidents (198) and firearms (107) in the same year. Maine drug-induced deaths (12.2 per 100,000 population) were similar to the national rate (12.7 per 100,000).
• In Maine, 4,000 adolescent males and 4,000 adolescent females used painkillers nonmedically in the 12 months prior to the interview.
• About 16,000 (14.37%) of the 109,000 adolescents in Maine used an illegal drug in the past month; 13,000 (12.3%) used Marijuana, and 6,000 (5.7%) used an illegal drug other than Marijuana.
• In Maine, 17.5% (19,000) of adolescents used alcohol in the last month, and 10.1% (11,000) engaged in binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks at the same moment on at least one day of past 30 days.
• Between 2003-2006, adolescent males accounted for 71% (3,086) of the 4,359 total adolescent substance abuse treatment admissions, in Maine, according to the Treatment Episode Data Set information.
• Within high school students, the reported rates of Cocaine use decreased from 2009-2011. Among adults, those between the ages of 10-25 reported the highest rates of Cocaine use within the past year.
• The current rate of inhalant use within high school students was about half the lifetime rate, in Maine. It appears that lifetime rates for inhalant use in high school dropped in 2011 while the last 30 day use had was stable.
• Of the total adolescent male admissions, in Maine, 2,337 (75.8%) reported alcohol use, and 2,731 (88.5%) reported Marijuana use.
• Maine showed a 1-day total of 7,833 patients in treatment, the majority of whom (7,474 or 95.4%) were in outpatient treatment. Of the total number of patients in treatment in 2006, 874 (11.1%) were under the age of 18.
• In 2009, inpatient admissions related to substance use decreased for alcohol and opiates after rising sharply in 2008. Outpatient visits related to substance abuse also increased in 2009, driven primarily by opiates which were shown as the substance of concern almost twice as often as alcohol, in Maine.
• In Maine, overdose deaths associated with pharmaceuticals; including Methadone, Oxycodone, and Benzodiazepines, are on the rise in Maine, while overdose deaths associated with illegal drugs have declined. Benzodiazepines seems to be responsible for the largest proportion of drug related overdoses in 2010.