Kentucky

It should be noted that these pages are not intended as an academic reference. The data collected is from State and Federal sources.

Kentucky Addiction Treatment Statistics

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 25,428 people were admitted to Kentucky drug and alcohol rehab programs in 2010. About 66.9% of those admitted were men and 33.1% were women.

Opiates (not including heroin) comprised 28.2 % of admissions as the most abused substance by those admitted to Kentucky drug treatment centers, followed by alcohol and then marijuana, 18.8% and 16.7% consecutively.

Opiates comprised 28.2 % of admissions as the most abused substance by those admitted to Kentucky drug and alcohol treatment centers.

Almost half of Kentucky drug treatment facilities provide mental health services in addition to drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs. Only 14% of Kentucky addiction treatment programs offer detoxification.

Alcohol Addiction in Kentucky

• In Kentucky, the rates of the past year of alcohol abuse and dependence have generally been at or below the national rates.
• Generally, the rate of unmet needs for alcohol treatment for the State population of ages 12 and older have been at or below the national rate; for the population of age 18 to 25, this rate has consistently been among the lowest in the country.
• In 2010, people admitted for alcohol abuse and dependence was 4,159. Those who were admitted for alcohol treatment with a secondary drug numbered 3,257.

Commonly Abused Drugs in Kentucky

Drug abuse is a national epidemic and the numbers are continuing to rise. Heroin is becoming the cheaper replacement for opiates as states continue to crack down on the “pill mills” making the cost of opiates too expensive.

Prescription Drugs
Several counties in Kentucky lead the nation in the quantity of narcotic pain medications distributed per person. There were 6,249 drug admissions for the abuse of opiates other than heroin in 2010. The most popularly abused prescription drugs in Kentucky are hydrocodone and oxycodone. These drugs are misused by individuals with medical prescriptions and those who use for non-medical purposes.

Cocaine
Cocaine is readily available in Kentucky. The price and purity of cocaine has remained relatively stable in Kentucky for the past several years. In 2010, people admitted for drug treatment who smoked cocaine was 1,178, while the percentage of males was 48.5% and 51.5% were female.

Heroin
Heroin is not as prevalent in Kentucky as in some other states as the supply seems to be more limited in Kentucky. There were 1,062 admissions for heroin addiction in 2010.

Marijuana
Marijuana is one of the most significant drug threats in the state of Kentucky. The Office of National Drug Control Policy has designated Kentucky as one of five states in the “Marijuana Belt.”
3,695 people were admitted to Kentucky substance abuse addiction treatment programs in 2010. 62 % of those admitted were male.

Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine and crystal meth remain a serious threat throughout Kentucky, especially in rural areas of the state. Kentucky methamphetamine abuse and Kentucky crystal meth abuse are increasing at alarming rates. There were a record high number of Kentucky meth labs in 2010. 1,027 people were admitted to treatment in Kentucky for amphetamine addiction in 2010.

Kentucky Drug and Alcohol Fatalities, Injuries and Drug Court Statistics

Approximately one-fourth of Kentucky’s federally sentenced drug offenses in 2006 involved crystal meth or methamphetamine.

As of 2007, there were 48 Kentucky drug courts. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, there were 56,376 arrests for drug law violations in Kentucky in 2006 and 1,351 total collisions in which the drivers were under the influence of drugs. More than 200 of these collisions involved fatalities.

Kentucky is several percentage points higher than other states for juvenile use of methamphetamine.  Kentucky State Police stated that Kentucky cocaine use is decreasing at roughly the same rate that Kentucky meth use is increasing. The economics of drug trafficking reveal that methamphetamine and crystal meth are less expensive to produce and sell than cocaine, and are far more addictive.

There were 1,080 crystal meth labs found by law enforcement last year.

Kentucky Drug and Alcohol Addiction Resources

• Alcoholics Anonymous (go to the AA main page, click on find a meeting, follow link to state pages, click on Kentucky)
• Narcotics Anonymous
• Alanon and Alateen Family Group