A jug of used needles to exchange for new is seen in an industrial area of Camden, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Reporting by Nick Selbe, GRAPHIQ.

America has been fighting a war on drugs for decades, and the fight continues to this day. The primary target of today? Heroin. No other drug has risen in popularity more. In the past decade, heroin overdoses in the United States have skyrocketed, and the trend is showing no signs of slowing down.

The sheer volume of reported overdoses is staggering. Recent figures show that the demographic group with the largest increase in heroin use has been whites. With this troubling trend in mind, HealthGrove decided to examine the issue at the state level.

Using data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, we identified the 23 states that have seen the largest percentage increase in reported patients admitted to rehab clinics for heroin use from 2002 to 2012.

*Note: 10 states — Arizona, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming — did not have data available, so they are not included in this list.

#10 Ohio

Total 2002 admits: 4,325

Total 2012 admits: 9,515





Percent increase: +120 percent

#9 North Carolina

Total 2002 admits: 848

Total 2012 admits: 1,869





Percent increase: +120.4 percent







#8 South Dakota

Total 2002 admits: 7

Total 2012 admits: 30





Percent increase: +328.6 percent





#7 Nebraska

Total 2002 admits: 20

Total 2012 admits: 94





Percent increase: +370 percent





#6 Minnesota



Total 2002 admits: 775

Total 2012 admits: 4,089



Percent increase: +427.6 percent















#5 Indiana

Total 2002 admits: 66

Total 2012 admits: 410





Percent increase: +521.2 percent





#4 Oregon

Total 2002 admits: 4,421

Total 2012 admits: 39,051





Percent increase: +783.3 percent





#3 Missouri

Total 2002 admits: 249

Total 2012 admits: 4,065





Percent increase: +1,532.5 percent





#2 Alaska

Total 2002 admits: 11

Total 2012 admits: 197





Percent increase: +1,690.9 percent





#1 Kentucky

Total 2002 admits: 65

Total 2012 admits: 1,282





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Percent increase: +1,872.3 percent



