Drug abuse is a daily battle for a large number of people in the state of Pennsylvania, with an estimated 9 percent of Pennsylvania residents reporting past-month use of illicit drugs. The problem covers a very large spectrum of difficulties and affects numerous distinct age groups and backgrounds. Pennsylvania 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 (including youth) for needing but not receiving rehabilitation for illicit drug use. This is where drug treatment and alcohol rehabilitation facilities in Pennsylvania can step in to help, and individuals struggling with addiction can experience the benefits of a drug treatment and alcohol rehab facility in Pennsylvania.
At this time, prescription drug abuse is one of the worst drug problems that the state of Pennsylvania is faced with. This is an issue in most states in the country, but the issue is particularly bad in the state of Pennsylvania. Actually, Pennsylvania 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 individuals who are struggling with legitimate acute and chronic pain, Pennsylvania residents are using these powerful narcotic drugs recreationally to feel high. Not only is this an issue in terms of abuse and addiction, but Pennsylvania residents are losing their lives because of this type of abuse.
One of the benefits of drug and alcohol treatment centers in Pennsylvania is that people in recovery can forego the consequence of losing their lives to prescription drug addiction, and make the decision to seek out help and receive helpful treatment for their problem. For instance, instead of receiving the treatment they needed for addiction, 301 individuals lost their lives in the state of Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania in 2009, an estimated 95% had at least one indicator of substance abuse. The 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 Pennsylvania, and gotten the treatment they needed 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 specifically can benefit from receiving treatment at a drug rehab and alcohol treatment facility in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, substance abuse is a dilemma that many pregnant mothers in the state struggle with. Statistics show that pregnant women in Pennsylvania 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 the state 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 Pennsylvania tested positive for substance use, and 44% of the pregnant women tested positive for more than one substance.
Pennsylvania is also faced with a really serious issue of drug and alcohol abuse among youth. For a state that ranks near the worst for high school graduation rates, youth in particular can reap the advantages of attending a drug rehab and alcohol treatment facility in Pennsylvania. Specifically, rates of prescription drug abuse, marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine abuse as well as binge drinking among young people are on the rise in the state and at a considerably higher rate than teen drug use 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 with them whatever meds they've stolen and dump them in a bowl, which they randomly select from for consumption to get high. Prescription drug use is about as widespread as marijuana use among teens in Pennsylvania, and teens are especially fond of prescription pain killers which produce a high similar to heroin and other opiates. Teens in Pennsylvania are typically under the impression that these powerful 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, a number of drug rehab and alcohol treatment facilities have emerged in Pennsylvania focused at treating teen drug addiction.
Alcohol abuse is of particular concern among all age groups in the state of Pennsylvania, and residents who abuse alcohol can benefit from the variety of drug rehab and alcohol treatment programs which are readily available in the state. 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 many effects, especially when inebriated Pennsylvania citizens take to the road. In 2009, police officials 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 Pennsylvanians reported having driven after drinking in the past 60 days. As a consequence, these citizens decision to drive while under the influence of alcohol claimed 68 lives on the roads of the state in 2009.
All citizens of Pennsylvania benefit from the drug rehab and alcohol treatment facilities available in Pennsylvania, by taking advantage of the numerous 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 an assortment of private drug and alcohol rehab programs, many of which are specifically tailored to treat all types of addiction. Individuals who want to get help can take advantage of the numerous drug treatment and alcohol rehabilitation programs in Pennsylvania to recover from addiction and become fully rehabilitated.