New York State Police Arrest Man With Meth & Fentanyl On Taconic

New York State Police report that they have arrested and charged a man after a recent stop on the Taconic Parkway. Officials say the suspect is facing multiple felony charges, including 2nd degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Drug abuse has long been a major problem in the United States, as fentanyl and other opioids are only exasperating the already existing crisis, says the Council on Foreign Relations.

The problem has hit home in New York state as well, as 3,026 people across the state died of drug overdoses in 2022, according to numbers compiled by NYC.gov.

New York State Police Arrest Man With Meth & Fentanyl On Taconic

New York State Police said in a press release that  on May 12, members of the Troop K Community Stabilization Unit conducted a traffic stop on a 2000 Honda traveling northbound on the Taconic State Parkway in the town of East Fishkill.

See Also: Prosecutors Say New York Man Ran 'Breaking Bad-Style Drug Lab'

The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was identified as a 37-year-old man from Manhattan, according to police reports.

During the investigation, troopers say that a consent search was conducted in conjunction with a vehicle inventory, resulting in the discovery of approximately 111.0 grams of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine and approximately 66.2 grams of blue fentanyl pills

The suspect was arrested and arraigned in the town of East Fishkill Court and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail without bail, according to police.

Is New York Better or Worse Than Other States For Drug Abuse?

WalletHub used a number of key metrics for their findings, ranging from arrest and overdose rates, to opioid prescription use, and employee drug testing laws to come up with their statistics.

What may come as a surprise to some, New York actually had some of the fewest opioid prescriptions per 100 residents, according to the study. This placed New York at 47th in the country in that category.

New York's Overall Ranking

Overall, New York ranked 30th in the entire study. If you break it down into subcategories: New York came in 36th for drug use and addiction rank, 18th for its law enforcement rank, and 32nd for drug issues and rehab rank, respectively.

Hawaii had the lowest overall drug addiction score, while New Mexico and West Virginia were the worst. Vermont ranked 17th, Massachusetts 23rd, Pennsylvania 24th, New Jersey 36th, and Connecticut was 46th.