O-SenseA majority of Idahoans say the state has a “very big problem” with heroin and opioid abuse, a new Idaho Politics Weekly poll finds.
Forty percent of Idahoans know someone personally who is either abusing such drugs now, or has in the past.
And most believe community leaders – including politicians – aren’t adequately addressing the problem, finds Dan Jones & Associates in a new statewide survey.
Idaho Politics Weekly and Dan Jones & Associates are the only group regularly polling in Idaho.
Our head-to-head match-ups on leading Idaho races can be found on our website, Idahopoliticsweekly.com.
Besides political races, the online newsletter also looks at major issues of the day, and certainly heroin and prescription painkiller abuse is one of those.
Jones finds:
- 57 percent of Idahoans say heroin and painkiller abuse is a “very big
problem.”
- 31 percent say such drug abuse is “not a big problem.”
- Only 1 percent say it is “not at all” a problem.
- And 11 percent don’t know.
- 4 percent said they know someone who is currently abusing such drugs.
- 25 percent say they know someone who has abused such drugs in the past.
- And 15 percent said they both know someone abusing now, and someone who has abused
in the past.
- 54 percent said they have no personal knowledge of someone hooked on heroin or painkillers.
Finally, 51 percent say their community leaders are not doing enough to fight the plague of heroin and/or pain killer addiction and abuse.
- 36 percent say their leaders are adequately addressing the problem.
- And 13 percent don’t have an opinion on the fight against these drug abuses.
Are Idaho women more in tune with the drug problem?
Jones finds a real difference in the drug abuse opinions among the sexes.
- 65 percent of women say heroin and/or pain killer abuse is a “very big problem” in
Idaho.
- But only 48 percent of men believe so.
- 39 percent of men say it is “not a big problem,” while only 23 percent of women
agree with that assessment.
- 11 percent of both sexes don’t know.
And there is an age difference of opinions, as well, with younger Idahoans knowing someone personally battling these addictions:
- 11 percent of those ages 18-29 say they know someone who is currently abusing heroin
or painkillers.
- 17 percent said they knew someone who had abused these drugs.
- And 28 percent said they both know someone hooked on these drugs today and know someone who was abusing these drugs in the past.
Older age groups may know someone in the past – they are older and had more time to see a friend or family member suffering, but didn’t know as many current users.
Idaho is a very Republican state – and by far most of the partisan offices in the state are held by Republicans.
So it would follow that more Republicans would think that their party officeholders/community leaders are addressing societal needs.
Jones finds that 40 percent of Idaho Republicans think their community leaders are “definitely” or “probably” adequately addressing the drug abuse problems, while only 33 percent of Democrats believe so.
Jones polled 608 adults statewide from Sept. 28 to Oct. 9; the survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.97 percent.
