Alcohol and other drug use contributes to numerous public health and public safety problems in Minnesota and Dakota County.
Alcohol kills over 100,000 people in the United States each year, ranking as the third leading cause of death. Alcohol contributes to injury, violence, homicide, suicide, sexual assault, fires, falls, and drowning, and is associated with many chronic diseases. Teens report that after marijuana,
prescription medications are the most common illegal drug used to get high. Seventy percent of prescription pain medications illegally used by teens were obtained from a friend or relative, including many from a home medicine cabinet.
Methamphetamine use and manufacturing pose significant health risks to Dakota County residents.