How California’s Addiction Rates Fare Against Other States

The growing drug epidemic has been on the constant rise for years. These rates became exceptionally worse throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Without access to quality health care or inpatient treatment programs, more individuals were using substances alone, experiencing overdoses, and struggling to either maintain or handle addiction because of the lack of treatment.

The Lakehouse Recovery Center is focused on providing quality treatment services to people not only within Southern California but throughout the country thanks to our virtual treatment programs.

Addiction is a growing problem, not only within the state of California but across other states as well. It is important to understand how California’s rates are faring against other states to have a better idea about what California may be doing right or wrong to lessen these rates.

The Rates of Addiction in California

According to the CaliforniaDrug Control Update, in 2010-2011, “California was one of the top ten states for rates of drug-use in several categories, including: past-month illicit drug use among persons age 12-17; past-month use of illicit drugs other than marijuana among persons age 12-17; past-year cocaine use among persons age 12-17; and illicit drug dependence or abuse among persons age 12-17.”

Some substances are more frequently used within some states than others. Within California, the most used drugs include:

• Marijuana is the most widely used substance. Marijuana may be safer to use compared to harmful substances like heroin or opioids, but it can still cause problems for users. California is one of the few states where it is legal for recreational use.
• Opioids are the next most commonly used substance in California, though Percocet, oxycontin, Vicodin, and fentanyl are the most used substances in the country. A large amount of Californians are suffering from an addiction to opioid pain medication.
• Cocaine is another substance very easily available to Californians. A significant amount of the state’s population is experiencing an addiction to cocaine, making it the most common after Marijuana and Opioids.
• The fourth most common substance used in California is heroin. Heroin is an opioid-like OxyContin and fentanyl. It is cheaper though, and when individuals suffering from prescription opioids no longer have access, they commonly turn to heroin as a less expensive way to continue substance use.

Substance Use Across the United States

Some of these issues regarding substance use in the state of California have been plaguing other states across the country. Marijuana, prescription opioids, cocaine, and heroin are frequently used in other states as well. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that “nearly 841,000 people have died since 1999 from a drug overdose,” while in 2019 alone, “70,630 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States.” This proves just how dangerous drug abuse is within the United States.

Despite the growing drug epidemic in the state of California, the rates of addiction have fluctuated across the United States for years. According to the CDC, the top 10 states struggling with drug overdose in 2020 failed to include California. While California may not have been listed, even then the United States was reporting numbers of addiction and overdoses at epidemic levels. Programs have been created in an attempt to reduce these numbers. It is clear more needs to be done to reduce the rates of addiction, overdoses, and deaths across the country.

Aiding in the Drug Epidemic

The best way that individuals can reduce the rates of addiction across the country is through increased access to mental health care nationwide. The biggest issue when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March of 2020 was the lack of access to mental health care and addiction treatment programs. This led a high number of individuals to suffer in many ways.

Although, this shutdown prompted the Lakehouse Recovery Center to create a virtual outpatient program. Through our program, we are able to offer a state-licensed therapeutic program to clients who are not just based in California, but across the country as well. Therefore, individuals across the country can find much-needed relief from their addiction.

Programs that can be offered virtually, such as the program offered at the Lakehouse, increase people’s access to quality addiction treatment. With addiction and overdose rates continuing to rise across the country, there has never been a time when virtual treatment is more useful and more needed. The only way to reduce the numbers is to make treatment more accessible to those in need. If any individual is in need of addiction treatment, they should consider reaching out to the Lakehouse Recovery Center today.

The drug epidemic has been a cause for concern across the country for many decades. These rates became exceptionally worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without access to quality health care or inpatient treatment programs, more individuals began using substances alone and experiencing overdose deaths. This caused a spike in the addiction and overdose rates in California, but addiction continues to be a high-priority concern in other states as well. The best way to reduce these rates of addiction and substance use disorder is by increasing individuals’ access to mental health care and addiction treatment. One way to do this is through more virtual treatment programs. The start of the COVID-19 pandemic provided the opportunity for the Lakehouse Recovery Center to create a virtual program that offers quality care to clients not only in Southern California, but across the country as well. For more information call the Lakehouse at (877) 762-3707.