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In the Middle of the Pack

These charts show that Washington is in the middle of a pack of U.S. cities when it comes to dangerous drug problems. The statistics are based on emergency room drug abuse mentions, which are when a patient comes into an emergency room and says that drugs are his or her reason for being there. Drug mentions fall into six categories: "Unexpected reaction," "Overdose," "Chronic effects," "Seeking detoxification," and "Other." The data is from an annual U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report that collects data from public and private hospitals nationwide.

The first chart shows all drug mentions, divided per 100,000 population so cities can be compared. The other charts show cocaine, heroin, and marijuana mentions. The cities at the bottom of the charts have the worst drug problems.