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Alcohol is far and away the biggest problem for Idahoans.
Every year for the past decade, the rates of past-year alcohol abuse and dependence among residents of Idaho has been significantly higher than the national average, says the report Idaho Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues At-A-Glance published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), especially among those between the ages of 12 and 17. The youth of Idaho are in crisis, and if the issue is not properly addressed, the adults of tomorrow will be struggling with alcoholism like never before.
If someone in your family in Idaho is living with dependence upon drugs or alcohol, waiting to intervene and get them medical and psychotherapeutic help could be deadly.
Meth and Marijuana Vie for the Number Two Spot
In Idaho, the number one drug of choice among those who enter treatment is alcohol. But for the number two spot, methamphetamine and marijuana have been neck and neck and switching places over the last few years, according to SAMHSA. Though rates of use of both drugs have climbed steadily over the past 15 years, in the mid-2000s, methamphetamine use spiked sharply in Idaho, and in 2005 took the number two spot from marijuana.
Last on the list, claimed as the drug of choice for between 10 and 20 percent of drug treatment patients over the last decade, is cocaine.
Lack of Treatment Options in Idaho
In just a few years, the number of drug rehabs in Idaho has dropped by about a third, says SAMHSA. In that same time period, the need for treatment has continued to rise steadily across the state. This means that the result has been excruciatingly long waiting lists for those in desperate need of immediate detox and addiction treatment.
According to the survey, there are still thousands of Idahoans every year who continue to live with chronic drug and alcohol abuse or addiction without getting the treatment they need. That means a constant risk of:
- Drug overdose
- Death due to accident under the influence
- Severe health problems, either chronic or acute
- Harm to family members due to negligence or poor choices made under the influence
- Lost opportunities at work and school
- Broken relationships at home
The Hope of Healing
It is never recommended that someone who deals with intense psychological cravings or physical withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking their drug of choice attempts to “go it alone” when it comes to detox and recovery. Too often, the end result is relapse, and if the period of sobriety during the attempted detox lasts more than a few days, this can ultimately result in overdose.
The best choice in drug rehab is the most comprehensive choice. Residential treatment is almost always preferred over outpatient care yet only about a dozen rehabs in Idaho even offer an inpatient treatment program and these often have a waiting list that is weeks or months long.
