Virginia was among the original thirteen colonies that formed the United States. As such, it is replete with cultural and traditional history. Further, it boasts the Appalachian Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay - making it one of the richest states in terms of culture and beauty. The state also has a population of around 8.5 million citizens.
Unfortunately, some of these people struggle with substance abuse and addiction - problems that often cause pain, destruction, and other negative consequences in their day to day lives.
In particular, the state has witnessed an increase in activities involving the smuggling of such drugs as cocaine and marijuana. About 50 percent of its total population lives in Tidewater, Central Virginia, and Northern Virginia. These areas, as can be expected, are prone to the largest number of cases of drug trafficking.
The NSDUH has also reported that around 165,000 people in the state above the age of 12 years engage in illicit substance abuse at least once in any given year. The same report showed that the state has witnessed an increase in the total number of people enrolling in addiction treatment and rehabilitation programs started in 2009.
By 2013, this number had increased to about 22,000 admissions. Of this number, 36.6 percent cited the abuse of drugs while 18.8 percent cited the abuse of alcohol. Another 44.7 percent cited the abuse of both alcohol and drugs.
Among the people who check into these recovery programs, the most common substances of abuse that are mentioned include heroin, cocaine, marijuana, stimulants like methamphetamine, as well as opioids.
In terms of drug trafficking, most organizations use commercial and private vehicles, trains, and airplanes to transport these substances of abuse into and through the state of Virginia. Most of the marijuana in the state comes in from Atlanta and Charlotte as well as from Mexico. On the other hand, Dominican and Colombian drug traffickers bring in cocaine through Philadelphia, New City, and certain Virginia regions.
The state has also witnessed an increase in the number of criminal activities involving or related to drugs. Currently, over 45 percent of all sentences in the state are linked to substances of abuse. Of this number, 51 percent are linked to crack cocaine.
The opioid epidemic sweeping across the rest of the United States has not spared Virginia. In 2018, for instance, a total of 1,193 overdose deaths were linked to opioid drugs. This was at a rate of 14.3 fatalities for every segment of 100,000 people.
Of the opioid related fatalities reported in the state, those that were linked to prescription opioid pain relief medications decreased from 404 deaths at a rate of about 5 fatalities for every segment of 100,000 people in 2017 to 326 fatalities at a rate of roughly 3.8 deaths for a similar segment of people by 2018.
At the same time, 532 deaths at a rate of 6.4 fatalities for a similar segment were linked to synthetic opioids and heroin (other than methadone) in 2017. This number went up to 852 fatalities at a rate of 10.2 deaths for every segment of 100,000 people by 2018.
Whether you are addicted to opioid drugs or to any other substance of abuse, you should consider checking into an accredited and licensed addiction treatment and rehabilitation center in Virginia so that you can start working towards long term recovery and sobriety.