Everything is Bigger in Texas
From job opportunities to outdoor adventure to fantastic food, music scenes, and much more, Texas is known for doing everything bigger. Enjoying life in the Lone Star State is possible with its abundance of beauty. Deep in the heart of Texas, residents can explore open prairies, forests, rugged hills, desert lands, coastline, and endless venues. In fact, Texas is one of the most diverse geographic locations in the U.S. However, there’s a tragic side to its beauty.
In Texas and throughout the nation, many individuals and families are struggling with substance abuse. Located along a border of Mexico, drugs find a way across southern borders and from the Gulf. The Addiction Center reported the most commonly addictive substances used by Texas residents include:
- Alcohol
- Heroin
- Meth
- Opioids
- Prescription Drugs
- Ecstasy
The Texas Department of Public Safety points out that Texas is a prime location for drug cartels who traffic in such substances. Families and individuals are quickly discovering the long term impacts of ongoing substance misuse and abuse, and the ramifications are threatening a humble Texas way of life. The disease of addiction has been growing worse every year, with drug cartels and trafficking organizations rising.
Texas Drug Use Stats
Texas Health and Human Services note that substance use disorders can impact people from all walks of life. They affect people from all cultures, ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic levels, and all ages. A 2013 study reported by The Addiction Center stated that over 40,000 Texans received substance abuse treatment.
Texas is also known to share a border with a country to the south, Mexico. Some 1,200-miles stretch across the southernmost border, following the course of the Rio Grande River. Large portions of this area are open and difficult to monitor by border enforcement agencies and are used by drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) to smuggle illicit drugs in the United States. The impact of DTOs makes dangerous and illegal drugs are much more accessible to Texas residents.
Meth Use in Texas
The Drug Enforcement Administration has rated methamphetamine as the number one drug threat in Texas. It is particularly prevalent in large cities like Dallas and Houston.
Phenyl-2-propanone, known as P2P, accounts for 98% of meth drugs in the USA. A large provider of P2P-based meth is Mexico.
Opioid Use in Texas
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that opioid overdoses killed over fourteen hundred Texans in 2018. The Texas Medical Association said over 70 Texas health institutions received federal funding of $18million. The grants are earmarked for combatting Texas’ opioid epidemic.
Doctors, rural organizations, and academic institutions will receive support to expand access to substance use disorder and mental health services in their area.
Texas Alcohol Abuse Data
Alcohol use disorder is also another mounting problem in Texas. As a favorite pastime and with the thousands of dive bars sprinkled throughout the state, more residents find it easier to drink regularly and more challenging to find the motivation to stop. Texas online substance abuse counseling seeks to combat the rising numbers of alcoholism. According to the CDC, about 95,000 Americans die from alcohol-related deaths annually. Adequate alcohol treatment programs carry the potential of offsetting these preventable deaths.
Ten percent of Texans use alcohol, and 45,000 have a mild substance abuse disorder. In addition, around 30,000 Texas residents have a moderate to severe alcohol substance abuse disorder.
Texas Health and Human Services studies show that almost 20% of adults in Texas and one in four high school students admitted to binge drinking in a 2011 report.
Nicotine/Marijuana Abuse
Both nicotine and marijuana addictions concern Texas medical staff. In many states, the use of both substances has become more lenient. However, Texas has not shifted from prosecuting marijuana offenses. No form of cannabis is legal in Texas.
TruthIntiative.org estimates that Texans who smoke cost the state $8.85 billion annually and $8.22 billion in productivity loss.
A Texas Health and Human Services study found that vaping rates have never been higher. By 2018, vaping had reached epidemic proportions–especially among teens. Some have developed severe lung disorders, seizures, and nicotine addictions.
Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disability in America.
Heroin Use in Texas
Texas heroin overdose deaths have more than doubled between 2007 and 2017. Mexican black tar heroin is prevalent in Texas because of the proximity to the Mexican border. Thirteen percent of drug abuse program admissions in Texas are heroin-related. Thirty-six percent of substance abuse treatment in Texas is related only to heroin.
Texas Online Substance Abuse Counseling & Treatment
Substance use disorders involve the recurrent use of a substance. This habit affects users’ daily domestic, social, and work life. Substance use treatment options try to deal with the whole person and underlying conditions for substance use.
The aim is detox if necessary, recovery, and rehab. Follow-up programs support the client in continuing to lead a substance-free life.
The Joint Commission is a licensing and accreditation body that has strict guidelines and standards for mental health and substance abuse treatment centers. Their goal is to monitor and enforce quality care by holding treatment centers accountable and to very high standards in order to stay officially accredited. Monitoring and audits continue throughout time to ensure that quality care continues. You can rest easy knowing that every Joint Commission drug rehabilitation center is continually holding the highest standard of treatment in the country.
