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Statistics support that the number of drug users throughout the United States continues to grow. While millions of Americans suffer from chronic illness, there have been few alternatives over the years to this growing problem. Opioid pain medications have been the sole medication prescribed by doctors to treat problems such as fibromyalgia, reflex sympathetic disorder, and other chronic related illnesses that have no cure. However, opioids and other drugs cause severe substance use disorders in California that need to be addressed. Learn more about the scope of drug use in California.
California, with its 37,253,956 residents, is the most populous state in the union. The larger a population, the more significant the statistics will be relating to issues such as addiction. There are two major cities in California at the forefront of this issue–Los Angeles and San Francisco– but around eight percent of the state as a whole is struggling with the physical and mental consequences associated with drug abuse and addiction. Only ten percent of those people receive treatment.
There are a variety of illicit and prescription drugs that are abused for recreational purposes in California. The most common illicit drugs come from drug trafficking over the border and by sea. In the United States, marijuana is the most coming illegal drug. Since marijuana’s recreational legalization in California in 2016, the most easily accessible illegal drug is heroin.
Because of California’s proximity to Mexico, there is a high availability of drugs that are trafficked into the country. Prescription and illicit drugs, such as methamphetamine and heroin, are trafficked by transnational criminal organizations like the Mexican cartels. California has addressed the substance abuse problem in the state, and alongside the CDC, it has rolled out a comprehensive approach to help combat the issue facing the Golden State.
Substance abuse treatment is a method of approaching substance use disorders to address and treat every aspect of an individual’s addiction. This includes the physical and mental aspects of substance abuse to dig to the root of the problem.
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Effective drug rehab programs will use evidence-based treatment with a proven track record of effectiveness and success. This must be backed by addiction research and the science community.
When necessary, addiction treatment may offer medication management, allowing the client to transition back to sobriety more comfortably.
American Psychiatric Association. (2017, January). What Is Addiction? Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction/what-is-addiction
California Department of Public Health. (2020, March 4). Overdose Prevention Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DCDIC/SACB/Pages/PrescriptionDrugOverdoseProgram.aspx
California Health Care Foundation. (2018, October 3). 2018 Edition – Substance Use in California. Retrieved from https://www.chcf.org/publication/2018-edition-substance-use-california/
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (n.d.). Opioids. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2018, January). Prescription opioid use is a risk factor for heroin use. Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/relationship-between-prescription-drug-heroin-abuse/prescription-opioid-use-risk-factor-heroin-use