“The misuse and abuse of prescription drugs has become a leading cause of harm among New Hampshire adults, resulting in more deaths each year than those caused by car crashes.”

So begins a sobering report issued two weeks ago by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. The assessment isn’t any better when it come to other forms of drug abuse.

“Young adults in New Hampshire between the ages of 18 and 25 have some of the highest rates of alcohol and drug misuse when compared to young adults nationally,” according to a separate assessment.

The state estimates that, in 2011, the latest year with complete figures, 72.3 percent of young adults used alcohol, compared to 66.6 percent for the Northeast region and 61 percent for the nation. Illicit drug use, not including marijuana, is pegged at 10.6 percent, compared to 7.6 percent for the Northeast and 7.5 percent for the nation.

These are disturbing numbers because they suggest New Hampshire’s quality of life is in jeopardy. With so many of our young people so often potted in one form or another, the state’s ability to compete will be imperiled.

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