Drug Addiction and/or Alcoholism is not something most people can over come by themselves. A Alcohol Rehabilitation and Drug Treatment Facility is usually the best opportunity individuals have to beat drug and/or alcohol addiction and get their lives back on track. Some things to look for when deciding on a Drug Rehab and Alcoholism Treatment Center are:
- Does the Drug Rehabilitation and Alcoholism Treatment Program have proper credentials?
- How much does a Alcohol Treatment and Drug Treatment Facility cost?
- What is the success rate of the Drug Treatment and Alcohol Rehabilitation Facility in question?
Many people find that speaking to a counselor or Registered Addiction Specialist is extremely helpful when deciding on a Drug Rehabilitation and Alcohol Rehab Center. Drug Counselors in California are a good source of information for figuring out what the best treatment option is for an individual. They are familiar with many of the programs in California and can increase your chances of getting into the correct Drug Rehabilitation and Alcoholism Treatment Center that will best address your treatment needs.
If you would like to speak with a Registered Addiction Specialist regarding Drug Rehabilitation and Alcohol Rehab Programs in California, call our toll-free number and one of our drug counselors will assist you in finding a Drug Rehab and Alcohol Rehabilitation Facility. You can also fill out our form if you would like an Addiction Specialist to contact you directly and help you or your loved one find the appropriate Alcohol Rehab and Drug Rehab Center.
Drug Rehabs California is a not-for-profit social betterment organization. All calls and information provided is done free of charge and completely confidential. It's never too late to get help.
Drug Rehabs California
California has a diverse culture and unique geography. These key points create issues and drug threat situations that are exclusive to this specific state. Drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana are smuggled into the state from Mexico; however, methamphetamine and marijuana are produced or cultivated in large quantities within the state. San Diego and Imperial Counties remain principal transshipment zones for a variety of drugs – cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine – smuggled from Mexico.
Los Angeles is a distribution center for all types of illicit drugs destined for other major metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. as well as locally. Increased security measures at Los Angeles International Airport continue to deter drug traffickers from traveling through the airport. Although the northern half of California is awash in methamphetamine in more rural areas, heroin remains the number one drug of abuse in San Francisco, heroin and crack cocaine continue to impact Oakland, and methamphetamine continues in and around Sacramento.
Drug rehabs in California employ a variety of different ideas as to what works best for addiction treatment. They take into account the varying degrees of personalities, lifestyles, religious beliefs, and experiences all of which are unique to each individual, and can play a role in the way treatment is received and handled. Understanding that everyone is different and holds different value and belief systems is the key to finding the identifying factor in recovery.
The "one size fits all" approach to addiction recovery is not right for most people. Many recovering addicts have special needs and individual circumstances that deem them immune to a blanket approach of addiction recovery. For this reason, niche rehabs with philosophies that focus on specific groups have proven themselves very successful. The basic philosophy of all these centers are that specific group based treatment is more effective than a "one size fits all" approach treatment. Some of the specifications of this target based rehab philosophy are gender specific, age specific, lifestyle specific, and religious specific.
2006-2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health:
Below is a table with data pertaining to the Selected Drug Use, Perceptions of Great Risk, Average Annual Marijuana Initiates, Past Year Substance Dependence or Abuse, Needing But Not Receiving Treatment, Serious Psychological Distress, and Having at Least One Major Depressive, by Age Group: Estimated Numbers (in Thousands), Annual Averages Based on 2006-2007 NSDUHs
| ILLICIT DRUGS |
Age 12+ |
Age 12-17 |
Age 18-25 |
Age 26+ |
Age 18+ |
| Past Month Illicit Drug Use | 2,708 | 325 | 866 | 1,517 | 2,383 |
| Past Year Marijuana Use | 3,342 | 424 | 1,187 | 1,731 | 2,918 |
| Past Month Marijuana Use | 1,949 | 222 | 716 | 1,011 | 1,727 |
| Past Month Use of Illicit Drugs Other Than Marijuana | 1,188 | 153 | 352 | 683 | 1,036 |
| Past Year Cocaine Use | 723 | 55 | 279 | 388 | 668 |
| Past Year Nonmedical Pain Reliever Use | 1,591 | 214 | 507 | 870 | 1,377 |
| Perception of Great Risk of Smoking Marijuana Once a Month | 11,160 | 1,079 | 1,105 | 8,976 | 10,081 |
| Average Annual Number of Marijuana Initiates | 296 | 149 | 133 | 14 | 147 |
| ALCOHOL | |||||
| Past Month Alcohol Use | 14,743 | 505 | 2,470 | 11,768 | 14,238 |
| Past Month Binge Alcohol Use | 6,412 | 320 | 1,609 | 4,484 | 6,092 |
|
Perception of Great Risk of Drinking Five or More Drinks Once or Twice a Week |
13,510 | 1,323 | 1,591 | 10,597 | 12,188 |
| Past Month Alcohol Use (Persons Aged 12 to 20) | 1,304 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Past Month Binge Alcohol Use (Persons Aged 12 to 20) | 8484 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| TOBACCO PRODUCTS | |||||
| Past Month Tobacco Product Use | 6,751 | 284 | 1,415 | 5,053 | 6,468 |
| Past Month Cigarette Use | 5,885 | 225 | 1,237 | 4,424 | 5,661 |
|
Perception of Great Risk of Smoking One or More Packs of Cigarettes Per Day |
23,008 | 2,282 | 3,169 | 17,557 | 20,725 |
| PAST YEAR DEPENDENCE, .USE, AND TREATMENT | |||||
| Illicit Drug Dependence | 575 | 77 | 222 | 276 | 498 |
| Illicit Drug Dependence or Abuse | 812 | 149 | 312 | 351 | 663 |
| Alcohol Dependence | 1,159 | 71 | 331 | 757 | 1,088 |
| Alcohol Dependence or Abuse | 2,433 | 186 | 716 | 1,531 | 2,246 |
| Alcohol or Illicit Drug Dependence or Abuse | 2,832 | 259 | 861 | 1,711 | 2,573 |
| Needing But Not Receiving Treatment for Illicit Drug Use | 764 | 136 | 298 | 330 | 628 |
| Needing But Not Receiving Treatment for Alcohol Use | 2,321 | 181 | 708 | 1,432 | 2,140 |
| SERIOUS PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS | -- | -- | 709 | 1,890 | 2,599 |
| HAVING AT LEAST ONE MAJOR DEPRESSIVE EPISODE | -- | 247 | 343 | 1,349 | 1,693 |
California Drug Use and Drug-Related Crime
- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made 3,055 drug arrests in California during 2007.
- During 2006, there were 2,483 homicides reported in California.
- There were 6,088 juvenile and 153,856 adult felony arrests for drug offenses in California during 2005.
- There were 147,301 misdemeanor arrests for drug offenses in California during 2005.
- Approximately 11.2 million (38.46%) California citizens reported that using marijuana occasionally (once a month) was a “great risk”.
- Additional 2004-2005 NSDUH results indicate that 880,000 (3.02%) California citizens reported illicit drug dependence or abuse within the past year. Approximately 618,000 (2.12%) reported past year illicit drug dependence.
- According to 2004-2005 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 2.6 million (9%) California citizens (ages 12 or older) reported past month use of an illicit drug.
- More than 400 pounds of methamphetamine were seized by the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement during 2006.
- During 2007, there were 221 methamphetamine laboratory incidents in California reported by the DEA and state and local authorities, a decrease from the 1,281 such incidents reported during 2003.
- According to the El Paso Intelligence Center, there were 64 children in California affected by methamphetamine laboratories during 2007.
- During 2006, there were 193,717 drug/alcohol treatment admissions in California. There were 183,278 treatment admissions in California during 2005. More than one-third of these treatment admissions were related to amphetamines, during both 200553and 2006.
- According to 2004-2005 NSDUH data, approximately 849,000 (2.92%) California citizens reported needing but not receiving treatment for illicit drug use within the past year.
- In the state of California it is estimated that there will be around 168,397 DUI's, and 2,005 deaths due to intoxicated driving this year. Statistics also show that there will be 10,208 deaths related to alcohol abuse, 52,316 tobacco related deaths, and 2,041 deaths due to illicit drug use.
- It is believed that there are around 1,759,368 marijuana users, 288,306 cocaine addicts, and 16,332 heroin addicts living in California. It is also estimated that there are 770,457 people abusing prescription drugs, 73,498 people that use inhalants, and 130,846 people who use hallucinogens.
- In California, there will be around 222,099 people arrested this year for drug related charges.
-
Cocaine and Crack Cocaine:
- Cocaine is readily available throughout the state with Los Angeles remaining one of the nation’s largest cocaine transshipment and distribution centers.
- Cocaine is also widely available in San Francisco and other areas of northern California.
- Los Angeles based gangs dominate the street level distribution of crack cocaine throughout the Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas.
- Cocaine bought by the gangs is “rocked” or converted into crack cocaine in the Los Angeles area (including Santa Ana and Riverside) and then sold locally or distributed to other cities in California and nationally.
-
Heroin:
- California-based law enforcement agencies primarily seize Mexico black tar heroin throughout the state and Mexican brown tar heroin to a lesser extent.
- Mexican black tar heroin is usually smuggled into the U.S. in amounts of five pounds or less, but occasionally law enforcement seizes larger amounts. In addition, Southeast Asian, Southwest Asian, and Colombian heroin seizures periodically occur throughout the state.
- The increased availability of high purity heroin that can be snorted allows a new, younger population to use heroin without a syringe and needle. Drug treatment specialists stated that these new heroin users ingest large amounts of heroin and become quickly addicted.
- Reports that high purity Colombian heroin is now available in the counties surrounding Los Angeles is supported by the recent seizure of 200 grams of Colombian heroin by law enforcement in Ventura County.
-
Methamphetamine:
- Methamphetamine is the primary drug threat in California.
- In recent years, there has been a decrease in the number of meth labs seized in California and an increase in the number of meth labs just south of the border in Mexico.
- Within California itself, Hispanics and Caucasians are the almost exclusive consumers of meth.
- Purity levels of meth have ranged from a low of ten percent to a high of 100 percent purity.
-
Club Drugs:
- Although MDMA or Ecstasy was considered the most popular “club drug” in the state among teens and young adults, there are indicators that its use may be decreasing across the board, yet consistently available in geographical pockets.
- The Partnership for a Drug Free America conducted a study released in 2004 which stated the use of Ecstasy among teenagers “had dropped 25 percent in the last two years, (that) decrease translates into an additional 770,000 teens rejecting the once trendy drug.”
- Ecstasy is of limited availability for sale in San Diego. MDMA is often obtained through suppliers based in Los Angeles, or on the Internet.
- Recent studies indicate that use of MDMA is expanding from raves and clubs into schools, malls and residences.
- MDMA is widely available in Los Angeles, which is one of three major gateway cities for the influx of MDMA into the U.S. (Miami and New York are the other two cities).
- Compton (near Los Angeles) remains a primary source of PCP throughout the U.S. Street gangs continue to control both production and distribution of PCP.
- Though not as widely popular as most rave drugs, LSD remains readily available throughout the Los Angeles area. The ample supply of LSD is due to the number LSD laboratories operating in remote areas of Northern California, which has been the center of LSD production since the 1960’s.
- Internet sales of GHB and GBL persist.
-
Marijuana:
- Marijuana remains the most widely available and abused illicit substance in California.
- Large quantities of low-grade marijuana are smuggled into the state from Mexico.
- The demand for highly potent Canadian marijuana, commonly referred to as “BC bud,” appears to have waned in the Los Angeles area, but quantities of this variety are still smuggled into the state.
- Potent domestic marijuana is also cultivated in sophisticated indoor, hydroponic gardens throughout the state. The growing pervasiveness of domestically grown marijuana has been facilitated by numerous medicinal marijuana clubs and hydroponic shops in the state, which openly advertise or sell cannabis seeds and seedlings subsequently used in indoor or small outdoor grows.
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Pharmaceuticals and Other Drugs:
- Due to the discrepancy in national laws between the U.S. and Mexico, the prolific “border pharmacies” within walking distance across the border in Tijuana and other Mexican border towns continue to be a major source of controlled substances in the San Diego metropolitan area.
- Another major source of controlled substances in the San Diego metropolitan area is the Internet, which has greatly facilitated the smuggling of illicit pharmaceuticals into the U.S. through Tijuana-based distributors.
- Doctor shopping and prescription forgery are the primary methods of prescription drug abuse in the Los Angeles and San Francisco metropolitan areas. In Northern California, OxyContin, Vicodin, benzodiazepines and carisoprodol are most commonly abused.
- In the Los Angeles area, Vicodin, Xanax, codeine, Valium, OxyContin, and Promethazine with codeine cough syrup remain the principal drugs abused.
- The San Diego area prescription drugs of choice are Vicodin, VicodinES, Lortab, and Vicoprofen, along with anabolic steroids.
- Rohypnol is rarely encountered by law enforcement within in the greater Los Angeles area.
- Vicodin, Ritalin, Rohypnol, Ketamine, and Valium are commonly diverted pharmaceutical narcotics. Many of these narcotics are used by teens and young adults frequenting the club scene. Rohypnol is available without a prescription at pharmacies throughout Mexico.
California was admitted as the 31st state of the Union on Sept. 9, 1850, and by the early 1960s it was the most populous U.S. state. No version of the origin of California’s name has been fully accepted, but there is wide support for the contention that it derived from an early 16th-century Spanish novel, Las sergas de Esplandián (“The Adventures of Esplandián”), that described a paradisiacal island full of gold and precious stones called California. The influence of the Spanish settlers of the 18th and 19th centuries is evident in California’s architecture and place-names. The capital of California is Sacramento.
California’s Demographics
- Population (2006 American Community Survey): 36,457,5491
- Race/ethnicity (2006 American Community Survey): 59.8% white; 6.2% black/African American; 0.7% American Indian/Alaska Native; 12.3% Asian; 0.4% Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander; 17.3% other race; 3.3% two or more races; 35.9% Hispanic/Latino (of any race)