Drug abuse is a daily reality for many people in the state of New Jersey, with an estimated 9 percent of New Jersey residents reporting past-month use of illicit drugs. The problem of drug abuse covers a very large spectrum of difficulties and affects many different age groups and backgrounds. New Jersey 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 rehabilitation for illicit drug use. This is where drug and alcohol treatment facilities in New Jersey can step in to help, and people having difficulties with addiction can experience the advantages of a drug rehab and alcohol rehabilitation facility in New Jersey.
At this time, prescription drug abuse is one of the worst drug problems that the state of New Jersey is faced with. This is a problem in most states in the country, but the problem is especially bad in the state of New Jersey. In fact, New Jersey 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 designed for people who are having difficulties with legitimate acute and chronic pain, New Jersey residents are using these powerful narcotic drugs recreationally to get high. Not only is this a problem in terms of abuse and addiction, but New Jersey residents are losing their lives because of this form of abuse.
One of the advantages of drug treatment and alcohol rehab centers in New Jersey is that individuals can forego the tragic results brought on by prescription drug addiction, and choose to seek help and receive helpful treatment for their problem. For instance, instead of getting the help they needed for addiction, 301 individuals died in the state of New Jersey in 2009 as a result of prescription drug overdoses. Those who died had an average of four different kinds of drugs or abusive substances in their systems at the time of death. Of those who died of prescription drug overdose in New Jersey in 2009, an estimated 95% had at least one indicator of substance abuse. The vast majority of these deaths, 75% to be exact, were unintended deaths and not suicides. So these individuals could have benefitted from attending a drug and alcohol rehab center in New Jersey, and received the treatment they required instead of losing their lives. But instead, over two times as many individuals died from overdosing on prescription drugs than those who died from overdose on illicit street drugs.
Pregnant mothers specifically can benefit from receiving treatment at a drug rehab and alcohol treatment program in New Jersey. Unfortunately, drug and alcohol abuse is a dilemma that many pregnant mothers in the state struggle with. Statistics show that pregnant women in New Jersey 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 New Jersey found 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 using illicit drugs which include cocaine, methamphetamine and opiates. Overall, over 36% of the pregnant women screened in New Jersey tested positive for substance use, and 44% of the pregnant women tested positive for more than one substance.
New Jersey is also confronted with a really serious problem of substance abuse among youth. For a state that ranks close to the worst for high school graduation rates, youth in particular can reap the benefits of attending a drug and alcohol treatment facility in New Jersey. In particular, rates of prescription drug abuse, marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine use as well as binge drinking among young people are on the rise in the state and at a much 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 get together and take part in an activity also known as "pharming." At these parties, teens will bring whatever meds they can get their hands on and dump them in a bowl, which they randomly choose from for consumption to get high. Prescription drug use is about as prevalent as marijuana use among teens in the state, and teens are especially fond of prescription pain killers which create a high similar to heroin and other opiates. Teens in New Jersey are typically under the impression that these powerful prescription narcotics are safe because they're prescribed by a physician, not realizing they are putting their health in serious danger. Because of the extent of this problem in the state, several drug rehab and alcohol rehabilitation facilities have emerged in New Jersey geared at treating teen drug addiction.
Alcohol abuse is of particular concern among all age groups in the state of New Jersey, and residents who abuse alcohol can benefit from the different drug rehab and alcohol treatment facilities which are offered in New Jersey. To highlight this problem, over 17% of residents who were surveyed in 2009 admitted to binge drinking in the past 30 days. This obviously leads to many effects, particularly when inebriated New Jersey citizens take to the road. In 2009, police officers report that there were 15,234 arrests made in the state for driving under the influence of alcohol. In fact, a recent survey discovered that 14% of New Jerseyns reported having driven after drinking in the past 60 days. As a result, these citizens decision to drive while under the influence of alcohol claimed 68 lives on the roads of New Jersey in 2009.
All residents of New Jersey benefit from the drug and alcohol treatment centers available in New Jersey, by taking advantage of the several treatment options offered 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 wide variety of private drug treatment and alcohol rehabilitation programs, many of which are tailored to handle all types of addiction. People who want to get help can take advantage of the wealth of drug treatment and alcohol rehab programs in New Jersey to recover from addiction and become fully rehabilitated.