Hi. My name is South Dakota, and I have a problem.
OK. So my name isn’t South Dakota, but that is the state I live in and here in South Dakota, the state has a problem, and a pretty significant one at that. South Dakota has a drug problem.
Here in South Dakota the three most highly used drugs are cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine. What makes the problem even worse is the fact that South Dakota’s meth problem is worse than that of Wyoming’s, which has made news for having such a large problem with meth.
In 2007 there were 10.1 kgs. of cocaine seized, 18.7 kgs. of meth seized and 143.7 kgs. of marijuana seized in South Dakota according to the DEA. The meth lab incidents in South Dakota were 7 that was including DEA, state and local.
One drug that is starting to show up as being abused more and more is OxyContin which is a huge concern to officials. Not only is it relatively easy to get but it more readily available to teens and is being abused by them more and more.
According to the DEA hydrocodone products, codeine, and Darvocet-N are also among the most popular abused pharmaceutical substances in the state. This is a scary thought considering that it’s not hard to get a hold of these substances through means such as forging of signatures, fake call-in’s and “doctor shopping”.
Teens are finding that not only is it easier to get their hands on these substances, but there is less chance of getting caught because they can pass them off as medication that they actually have to take.
The state has started to take actions to try and combat the problem that seems to be growing rapidly out of control, but with I-90 becoming an easy route to transport the drugs it has done nothing but help to aid in the outburst of the drug problem.
This is one problem that politicians cannot ignore with the upcoming election. This is a problem and one that has to be dealt with NOW. If it isn’t there is no telling what might happen in the next four years.