Nevada hosts the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Lake Tahoe, and the Mojave Desert. With a population of more than 3 million citizens, it comes as no surprise that the Silver State has a growing substance abuse and addiction problem.
From 2010 to 2015, for instance, more than 2,752 cases of an opioid or opiate related overdose were reported in the state. By the end of this study period, the state was ranked in the 4th positon across the United State for the rates of drug overdoses that turned out to be fatal.
The main drug threat in the state of Nevada comes from methamphetamine - particularly crystal meth that comes in from neighboring Mexico. Other drugs of concerns for its residents include prescription opioid and opioid pain relief medications, black tar heroin, and marijuana.
In 2013, for instance, opioid drugs were responsible for 473 deaths in the state. More than 50 percent of these fatal outcomes were reported in the city of Las Vegas - considered the party capital of the globe.
Among people who enrolled in an addiction treatment and rehabilitation center in Nevada, the following substances were the most commonly cited as causing an addiction:
In 2009, the state also reported that 3.6 percent of all the admissions into a drug or alcohol addiction treatment center included teenagers. This was at a time when the total average at the national level was at 0.5 percent.
The rates of abuse of pain relief medications, marijuana, and other illicit substances of abuse were highest among adolescents than other age groups in the state. It is now believed that this is due to the fact that drug trafficking organizations in Nevada are mostly targeting high schools in their distribution efforts.
The NSDUH - the National Survey for Drug Use and Health - for 2010 also reported that 9 percent of the residents of the state had engaged in illicit drug abuse. This rate was higher than the averages at the national level which were set at 8 percent. This report cited that most of these people were abusing methamphetamine and other stimulants.
The CDC - the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - reports that Nevada is among the top 10 American states in terms of the rates of alcohol abuse and addiction. Within the Las Vegas region, in particular, the organization reported that more than 25 percent adults had engaged in binge drinking. This figure was higher than the total average at the national level, which was at 23.2 percent.
The state has been engaging in a number of educational campaigns and mass media promotions designed to help more people understand the various dangers of alcohol abuse - since this substance is legal as in the rest of the county.
There are a number of high quality licensed and accredited facilities offering substance abuse and addiction treatment and rehabilitation programs and services in Nevada, and they can help you achieve long term sobriety.