The new state-by-state rankings of illicit drug use in America are out, and Vermont is number one.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration based its findings on 2010-2011 survey data, the most recent available, which asked respondents if they'd used any illicit drug within the previous 30 days.
Fifteen percent of Vermont adults said yes.
Utah came in last, with a 4 percent rate.
"I think it's a combination of things," said Barbara Cimaglio, the state's deputy commissioner of health, who tracks substance abuse closely.
Cimaglio said two interstate highways and Vermont's proximity to major metropolitan areas no doubt makes harder drugs more accessible.
She also wonders whether Vermont's permissive attitude toward marijuana - even its long winters - play a role.
Vermont's led the nation in marijuana use per capita for years and helps skew the overall drug ranking, Cimaglio said. "It makes it seem like things are really awful, but if you deconstruct that you'll see the rate of marijuana use is much higher than opiate use."
Other New England states also showed high drug use rates, as did Colorado and Washington State.
Vermont is the same place the United Health Foundation has ranked as America's 'healthiest state' - four years in a row.
"Yes, we have a lot going for us in terms of health," Cimaglio says. "But people need to be reminded that illicit drug use can cause you some pretty serious
Drug use in Vermont has declined slightly over time, figures show, from a peak in the 1990s.