California Addiction Treatment and Info

Research studies have been showing that California has a lower rate of drug overdose in comparison to the rest of the United States. However, it seems that the residents of this state are still struggling with relatively high rates of substance abuse. This is in spite of the fact that there are many addiction treatment and rehabilitation programs available to help these people.

Drugs and alcohol continue, to this end, plaguing and devastating the health, wellness, and lives of all the people that they touch. The effects of abusing these substances also extended to loved ones, friends, and family, as well as productivity at work and school.

Commonly Abused Substances in California

There are several substances that are abused in higher rates within this state than others.

1. Alcohol

Within the month preceding the SAMHSA study, the rates of binge drinking California were lower than similar national rates. It was reported that 5.1 percent of people aged between 12 and 17 abused alcohol while the national average was at 5.33 percent. For adults above the age of 18 years, 25.91 percent of local residents engaged in binge drinking while 26.54 percent of people in the same population segment abused the substance at the national level.

The rates of alcohol use, abuse, and dependence in the state have been consistently lower than similar national averages for every group. However, from 2005 to 2006, California reported an increase in these rates especially among people above the age of 26.

That said, a total of 23,284 people received addiction treatment in California for abusing alcohol as their primary drug. Another 19,832 people checked into a similar facility for multiple addictions involving alcohol and another secondary substance of abuse.

2. Cocaine

The use of cocaine among the residents of California within the year before the SAMHSA survey was also higher than the total rates of cocaine abuse at the national level. 0.75 percent of residents aged between 12 and 17 reported abusing this drug while the national rate was at 0.58 percent.

Among people aged 18 years and above, 2.59 percent reported abusing cocaine the year before the survey. This was at a time when the total national rates were set at 1.97 percent.

The TEDS report for 2009 showed that more than 20,000 people were enrolled in a drug rehab program for abusing cocaine by smoking it. An additional 2903 received similar services for ingesting this drug through other routes of administration.

3. Heroin

The rates of heroin abuse within the year prior to the survey, California reported lower figures than both the regional and national averages across different age groups. About 0.04 percent of people aged between 12 and 17 years abused this drug while the national rates were at 0.07 percent. At the same time, 0.26 of residents above the age of 18 years reported abusing heroin while the national averages were at 0.36 percent.

In 2009 also, heroin was responsible for 28,404 admissions into an addiction treatment center in the state. Of this number, 30 percent were female while the remaining 70 percent were female. People between the ages of 46 and 50 comprised the largest population seeking help for this form of opioid use disorder.

4. Prescription Opioids

Of all the people who sought treatment for a prescription opioid use disorder, about 45 percent were female and 55 percent male. People between the ages of 21 and 25 years comprised the largest segment of this population.

Much like the rest of the United States, the opioid epidemic has hit California particularly hard. Although young people abuse these drugs in fewer rates, adults tend to struggle particularly hard.

During the study, it was discovered that 3.5 percent of residents aged between 12 and 17 years abused prescription pain relief medications while the national averages were at 3.72 percent. On the other hand, 4.81 percent of adults above the age of 18 years abused the drugs in California while the national average was set at 4.54 percent.

5. Amphetamines

In 2009 also, close to 50,000 people received help for abusing amphetamines. Of this number, more than 44 percent were female while the remaining were male. Most of these patients were between the ages of 26 and 30 years.

6. Marijuana

According to SAMHSA - the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - California still has relatively high rates of illicit substance abuse. This includes drugs like marijuana that both adults and children in the state abuse in high rates.

About 8.89 percent of all people between the ages of 12 and 17, for instance, reported abusing marijuana in the month prior to the study conducted by SAMHSA. During the same period, the national rate for this population was set at 8.34 percent.

Among people aged 18 years and older, about 12.94 percent reported abusing marijuana. At the same time, the national rates for this segment of the population was at 10.57 percent.

The same year, 34,597 people enrolled in a drug rehab center in the state for abusing marijuana. Of this number, 50 percent were between the ages of 12 and 17, while 30 percent were female and about 70 percent were male.

Drug Related Fatalities and Injuries in California

In 2007, drug abuse was the direct cause of 4178 deaths in California. The same year, 4306 people lost their lives in a motor vehicle accident while another 3268 percent died due to an incident involving firearms.

The state has also been seeing an increase in the volume of cocaine that has been seized by law enforcement officials especially from 2001 to 2010. Although the rates of marijuana seizures have been decreasing, meth seizures keep on climbing.

Drug Overdose Rates in California

According to the CDC - the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - a total of 63,632 lives were lost to a drug overdose in 2016 across the United States. California contributed to 4,674 of these deaths.

That said, California does have a high population. To this end, the rates of overdose do not seem to have been increasing for several years - at least not to the same extent as in other states.

For instance, the same year California reported a rate of 11.2 deaths involving drug overdoses for every segment of 100,000 deaths. This figure means that the state has the 7th lowest rates of drug overdose deaths across the United States.

However, just because the state has not experienced an increase in the rates of overdose deaths does not necessarily mean that people do not lose their lives due to this cause in California.

Addiction Prevention in California

But what does the state do to reduce the rates of substance abuse and addiction - as well as the negative and devastating consequences of these conditions? Due to its large population and size, California has witnessed a wide variety of issues linked to addiction. These issues, for instance, are different in large cities like San Bernardino and Los Angeles than they are in rural areas.

To this end, healthcare professionals and lawmakers in the state have been implementing a wide variety of prevention programs to control and try to reduce the substance abuse rates affecting local residents.

For instance, there are several needle-exchange programs across the state. Most of these programs provide participants with relevant education and information about substance abuse and addiction, as well as their negative consequences.

The state has also been increasing the availability and affordability of Narcan (naloxone) especially to people who abuse opioids as well as to their families and loved ones. This is because naloxone is the most effective medication for reversing a drug overdose involving opioids.

Addiction Treatment in California

If you are already addicted, these preventative programs might not prove to be useful. However, there are many addiction treatment and rehabilitation centers scattered across California.

These centers offer a wide variety of recovery services that can help you overcome your growing substance use disorder as well as manage any other co-occurring mental health disorder that you may also be struggling with.

TEDS - the Treatment Episode Data Set - for 2009 reported that a total of 181,386 people enrolled in a drug and alcohol addiction treatment program in this state. During the same time, a total of 9 percent of local residents reported abusing illicit drugs in the same month.

The N-SSATS - or the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services - also reported that the state had a total of 1820 addiction treatment facilities in 2006 that were certified or recognized by the SSA (the Single State Agency). This was an increase from the 1772 facilities that it had in 2002.

Consider the following addiction treatment services available in California:

a) Medical Detox

When you first check into a drug rehab center, you will first go through a thorough evaluation and assessment. The goal of this process would be to determine the extent and severity of your substance abuse, physical and psychological dependence, and existence of other co-occurring disorders.

After the assessment stage, you will be provided with medical detox services to help you overcome your physical dependence in a comfortable and relatively pain free environment and mode.

These services are essential because you will most likely display some symptoms of withdrawal when you give up your favorite substance of abuse - depending on the exact types of substances that you were taking.

You will also be monitored closely to ensure that you do not succumb to these withdrawal symptoms. This is an essential service especially because of the fact that most addicts relapse during their detoxification process.

b) Inpatient Drug Rehab

After successful completing the detox process and overcoming your physical dependence, the drug rehab might offer you inpatient or residential treatment services. This effectively means that you will be living at the recovery center to work on your long term sobriety.

During your time in an inpatient center, you will learn more about your addiction as well as its causes and triggers. You will also be taught new relapse prevention techniques so that you can anticipate triggers and learn how to handle them when they arise. You will also be taught how to cope with every drug craving that arises.

c) Outpatient Drug Rehab

You can also opt to receive outpatient addiction treatment services immediately following your detox or after having completed an inpatient drug rehab program. In such a program, you will not have to move into the recovery center. Instead, you can go to the center a few times every week for several hours each time.

Outpatient drug rehab will offer you most or even all of the services that you would typically receive from an inpatient program. The only different is that you do not have to live at the recovery center. Instead, you can go back to your home or to a sober living center following your treatment sessions.

Irrespective of the type of addiction treatment program you choose, the following are some of the specialized recovery services that you may be able to enjoy in the course of your recovery:

• 12 step support groups
• Aftercare planning
• Addiction education
• Behavioral therapy
• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Complementary or holistic therapies, such as massage, yoga, meditation, and acupuncture
• Couples counseling
• Dialectical behavior therapy
• Dual diagnosis addiction treatment
• Family counseling
• Gender specific treatment
• Group therapy
• Individual therapy
• Life skills training
• Medication assisted treatment, or MAT
• Nutritional education
• Physical fitness and other exercises
• Relapse prevention techniques
• Stress management

Getting Help

The important thing to keep in mind is that substance abuse and addiction can be controlled. As long as you are able to check into an accredited addiction treatment and rehabilitation center with licensed healthcare professionals and other members of staff, you should be able to overcome your addiction as well as manage any other co-occurring medical and mental health disorders that you may also be struggling with.

CITATIONS

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-me-ln-california-opioids-20171026-htmlstory.html

https://www.carnevaleassociates.com/our-work/emerging-drug-trends-prevention-issue-brief.html

https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2018-11/DIR-032-18%202018%20NDTA%20final%20low%20resolution.pdf

https://www.getsmartaboutdrugs.gov/news-statistics/emerging-drug-trends

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234579/

https://www.shadac.org/publications/50-state-analysis-drug-overdose-trends-evolving-opioid-crisis-across-states

https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2010/2.0_Drug_statistics_and_Trends.pdf

For more information about treatment centers in California, Click Here.