Florida Drug Treatment Clinic

Facts and statistics regarding drug addiction

The US is currently experiencing some of the highest drug addiction levels than any other time in history. Despite the fact that many of the drugs that were popular during the 1970’s are not as widely abused today, the overall picture is very serious. The DEA releases an annual report that discusses the primary drug threats while health organizations and medical professionals consider drug addiction as a very serious public health threat.

Here are some staggering facts and statistics relative to drug addiction in the US today:

• the number of fatalities that result from cocaine overdose grew from 223 in 1992 to over 700 last year (2010)
• the number of seniors between the ages of 50 and 59 nearly doubled from 2.5% to 4.7%
• currently there are over 6 million children that live with a substance dependent parent
• the number of fatalities associated with drug overdoses has risen over 540% since 1980
• other than alcohol, marijuana is still the most commonly abused substance in the US in the 12 and older age groups
• drug abuse and addiction accounts for over $122 billion in lost productivity time on the job and another $15 billion is associated with health care and emergency medical costs
• the illegal consumption of prescription medications has increased over 500% since 1990

When you take all of this into consideration, it’s no wonder that the need for more effective addiction treatment and recovery programs has been continually growing like the above numbers have been.

Addiction treatment and recovery in Florida

According to the DEA, the state of Florida is in a position where it is viewed as a drug trafficking mecca to many of the overseas cartels. Based on geographical location and miles of shoreline, this provides overseas cartels with a vast distribution corridor for numerous addictive substances. Florida is the primary point of entry in the eastern US and I-95 provides drug distributors and traffickers the perfect opportunity to run drugs from here to the Canadian border if they choose to do so.

As a result of this, the number of Florida drug treatment clinic programs has grown in exponential numbers over the last 2 or 3 decades. Unfortunately, many of these facilities are still patterned after the traditional clinic or hospital looking facilities of the past when the concept of addiction treatment and recovery was being developed. These facilities tend to take a one-size-fits-all approach to drug rehab and still rely on older, conventional therapies that are now considered to be out of date and ineffective.

Conversely, the Delray Recovery Center is an alternative Florida drug treatment clinic that offers more modern and innovative therapies that are very conducive to total recovery.