Drug abuse is an everyday battle for a large number of people in the state of Kentucky, with an estimated 9 percent of Kentucky residents reporting past-month use of illicit drugs. The problem of drug abuse covers a very large spectrum of troubles and affects numerous different age groups and backgrounds. Kentucky is not only in the highest quintile of States for illicit drug dependence and abuse in the past year in people 12 and older, but in all age groups (which includes youth) for needing but not receiving treatment for illicit drug use. This is where drug treatment and alcohol rehabilitation centers in Kentucky can step in to help, and individuals struggling with addiction can receive the advantages of a drug rehab and alcohol treatment center in the state.
Currently, prescription drug abuse is one of the worst drug problems that the state of Kentucky is faced with. This is an issue in most states in the country, but the problem is particularly bad in the state of Kentucky. In fact, Kentucky is in the top ten of states for past-year illicit use of pain relievers among residents 12 and older, as well as illicit use of pain relievers among young adults. While prescription pain relievers are meant for individuals who are having difficulties with actual acute and chronic pain, Kentucky citizens are taking these powerful narcotic drugs recreationally to feel high. Not only is this an issue in terms of abuse and addiction, but Kentucky residents are losing their lives because of this form of abuse.
One of the benefits of drug rehab and alcohol rehabilitation centers in Kentucky is that people can forego the tragic results brought on by prescription drug addiction, and choose to find help and receive effective treatment for their problem. For instance, instead of receiving the help they needed for addiction, 301 individuals lost their lives in the state of Kentucky in 2009 from prescription drug overdoses. Those who died had an average of four various types of drugs or abusive substances in their systems at the time of death. Of those who lost their lives to prescription drug overdose in Kentucky in 2009, an approximated 95% had at least one indicator of substance abuse. The majority of these deaths, 75% to be exact, were unintentional deaths and not suicides. So these individuals could have benefitted from attending a drug and alcohol treatment center in Kentucky, and gotten the help they required instead of losing their lives. But instead, over two times as many people died from overdosing on prescription drugs than those who died from overdose on illicit street drugs.
Pregnant mothers in particular can benefit from receiving treatment at a drug and alcohol rehab program in Kentucky. Unfortunately, substance abuse is a problem that a lot of pregnant mothers in the state struggle with. Statistics show that pregnant women in Kentucky have the highest rate of alcohol and illicit drug use and the second highest rate of tobacco use in the entire nation. A survey which screened over 7,000 pregnant mothers in Kentucky identified that a quarter of them were actively smoking cigarettes, 26% were drinking alcohol, and over 10% were smoking marijuana. Even more worrisome, is that over 200 of these women were actively abusing illicit drugs which include cocaine, methamphetamine and opiates. Overall, over 36% of the pregnant women screened in Kentucky tested positive for substance use, and 44% of the pregnant women tested positive for more than one substance.
Kentucky is also faced with a severe issue of drug and alcohol abuse among youth. For a state that ranks close to the worst for high school graduation rates, youth specifically can reap the benefits of attending a drug rehab and alcohol treatment program in Kentucky. Specifically, rates of prescription drug abuse, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine use as well as binge drinking among youth are on the rise in Kentucky and at a considerably higher rate than teen drug abuse nationally. Prescription drug abuse is of particular concern, where local law enforcement officers reported a rise in the number of pill parties where youth congregate and take part in an activity also known as "pharming." At these parties, teens will bring with them whatever medications they can get their hands on and dump them in a bowl, which they randomly select from for consumption to get high. Prescription drug use is about as prevalent as marijuana use among teens in Kentucky, and teens are especially fond of prescription pain killers which create a high similar to heroin and other opiates. Teens in Kentucky are typically under the impression that these potent prescription narcotics are not harmful because they're prescribed by a physician, not recognizing they are putting their health in serious danger. Because of the extent of this issue in the state, several drug treatment and alcohol rehabilitation programs have emerged in Kentucky geared at treating teen drug addiction.
Alcohol abuse is of particular concern among all age groups in the state of Kentucky, and residents who abuse alcohol can benefit from the variety of drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities which are readily available in Kentucky. To highlight this problem, over 17% of residents who were surveyed in 2009 admitted to binge drinking in the past 30 days. This of course leads to several effects, particularly when inebriated Kentucky citizens take to the road. In 2009, police officers document that there were 15,234 arrests made in the state for driving under the influence of alcohol. In fact, a current survey found that 14% of Kentuckyns reported having driven after drinking in the past 60 days. As an end result, these citizens decision to drive while under the influence of alcohol claimed 68 lives on the roads of Kentucky in 2009.
All residents of Kentucky benefit from the drug and alcohol treatment programs available in Kentucky, by taking advantage of the various treatment options readily available in the state. There are several non-profit organizations in the state which treat addiction on both an out-patient and residential treatment basis, as well as a variety of private drug treatment and alcohol rehab centers, many of which are specifically tailored to treat all types of addiction. Individuals who want to get help can take advantage of the wealth of drug treatment and alcohol rehabilitation centers in Kentucky to recover from addiction and become fully rehabilitated.