The County With The Highest Drug-mortality Rate

Rio Arriba County, N.M., lies along the drug-smuggling route from Mexico to Denver. This is not a particularly useful economic development strategy.

1 minute read

July 19, 2001, 9:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"The US area with the highest drug-mortality rate per capita isn't New York, Los Angeles, or any other major city. It is this sparse, rural county flanked by the Sangre de Cristo mountains of northern New Mexico. STAFF The reasons for the startling statistic are as varied as they are entrenched. One is location. Rio Arriba County lies along the drug-smuggling route from Mexico to Denver."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Wednesday, July 18, 2001 in The Christian Science Monitor

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