Ready Access to Four Types of Illegal Drugs in Nebraska: Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Prescription Pills

• In Event: Data and Methodological Innovations in Substance Use Research

Abstract

Variation in access to drugs between rural and urban areas is key to understanding changing drug use in the U.S. This paper examines the extent to which a representative sample of Nebraskans have ready access to four types of drugs: marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, and prescription pills. Ready access means that the participant knows at least one person from whom they could obtain a certain type of drug from if they wanted to. We find that on average, 35% of Nebraskans have ready access to marijuana, 9% have ready access to methamphetamine, 5% have access to heroin, and 18% have ready access to prescription pills. Access is conditioned by age, and for some drugs by depressive symptoms or religious attendance. Living in an urban or rural part of the state was not associated with having ready access to any of the four types of drugs. However, urbanicity did moderate the associations between ready access and individual attributes such as age, depressive symptoms, and religious attendance. The level of ready access a population has to different types of drugs describes the exposure and initiation potential of a population. Understanding variation in ready access to drugs may inform policy and prevention efforts.

Authors

• Patrick Habecker, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Melissa Welch-Lazoritz, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Kirk Dombrowski, University of Nebraska-Lincoln