Mississippi Addiction Treatment and Info

Like the rest of the United States, Mississippi has witnessed an increase in the rates of drug and alcohol abuse among its residents. This is in spite of the fact that it has several high quality addiction programs that can help these people overcome their substance use disorders as well as manage any co-occurring medical and mental health disorders that they may be struggling with.

Addiction in Mississippi

Mississippi is widely known across the globe for its coastline, rivers, natural beauty, and history. As such, it comes as a surprise to many that there are people in this state who turn to alcohol and drugs.

SAMHSA - the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - for instance released a report showing that 6.6 percent of adults above the age of 21 years in this state engaged in heavy drinking in the month before the survey.

Other figures from the drug rehab admissions in the state showed that amphetamines were the substances most commonly cited by people checking into these treatment facilities. They were followed closely by alcohol. other substances that people abuse in Mississippi as per these admissions:

  • Amphetamines at 24 percent
  • Alcohol at 23.8 percent
  • Marijuana at 21.5 percent
  • Opioids (other than heroin) at 12.8 percent
  • Cocaine at 9.2 percent
  • Heroin at 5.5 percent

Amphetamine Addiction in Mississippi

Doctors prescribe amphetamines like Adderall mostly for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - or ADHD. This condition is increasingly diagnosed in the state. In 2011, for instance, the CDC - the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - reported that Mississippi has a high rate of ADHD diagnosis among its children.

To this end, it comes as no surprise that doctors in the state wrote 37 percent more prescriptions for amphetamines in 2014 as they did in 2014. Doses for these medications also increased by a total of 41 percent.

With rising numbers and doses of amphetamines in the state, more people are able to access stimulant medications in medicine cabinets. Even those who have not been diagnosed with ADHD end up abusing these substances due to the pleasurable effects that they produce.

When you take amphetamines, they will stimulate the brain and the body. As a result, you may feel more energized and self-assured as well as stronger than you normally are. The additional energy and confidence will allow you to accomplish much more than you used to when you were not abusing these drugs.

It is because of these effects that many people in Mississippi abuse amphetamines - particularly those who are trying to boost their physical and psychological performance at work, school, or in homes. The drugs are also effective at suppressing appetite and some use it to lose weight.

The Mississippi Opioid Epidemic

Apart from amphetamines, the other class of prescription drugs that are commonly abused include opioids. The latest reports, for instance, show that 107.5 prescriptions were written for every segment of the population comprised of 100 people. As such, it comes as no surprise that so many residents are now grappling with opioid use disorders at rates that are similar to those reported at the national stage.

Unfortunately, prescription opioids are a gateway drug. Since they are heavily controlled across the United States, those who are addicted to them often turn to other cheaper and more accessible alternatives - such as fentanyl and heroin.

This is why, 67 police arrests in the state in 2012 involved heroin. By 2017, this number had reached more than 400. That year, Mississippi lost 274 lives to an opioid drug overdose.

Commonly Abused Substances in Mississippi

Like any other state, there are some particular substances that are most popular than others in Mississippi. Consider the information below:

1. Alcohol

A total of 1244 people checked into an addiction treatment program in Mississippi in 2010 for abusing alcohol alone. Another additional 1368 people received similar recovery services for abusing alcohol alongside another secondary intoxicating substance.

2. Cocaine

The same year, 259 people were admitted into a drug rehab center in the state for abusing cocaine. Of this number, 61 percent were male while the remaining 39 percent were female.

3. Marijuana

Among people enrolling in addiction recovery centers in Mississippi, marijuana is the substance that is most commonly cited. In 2010, for instance, a total of 1481 people checked into these centers for abusing this drug. Of this number, 30 percent were female while the remaining 70 percent were male. Most of these people were between the ages of 21 and 25 years.

4. Prescription Drugs

The TEDS - the Treatment Episodes Data Set - report for 2010 also showed that 655 people checked into an addiction treatment program in the state for abusing opioids other than heroin. Of this number, 49.9 percent were female while the remaining 50.1 percent were male.

Drug Related Fatalities and Injuries in Mississippi

Drug abuse and addiction were the direct cause of 334 deaths in the state in 2007. The same year, 914 people died in motor car accidents while incidents involving firearms claimed another 535 lives.

In 2007, Mississippi seized 155 meth labs. By 2009, this number had increased by 334 percent to 673 seizures. This is according to data released by EPIC-NSS - the National Seizure System run by the El Paso Intelligence Center.

In 2010, the state passed a law to limit PSE - pseudoephedrine - precursor chemicals so that they are now only available by prescription. As a result, the number of meth labs seized in the state have been decreasing since then.

Addiction Prevention in Mississippi

Mississippi has been struggling with high rates of substance abuse and addiction among its residents. However, research studies show that amphetamines and alcohol are the primary drugs of abuse in the state. Even so, policymakers have mostly been focusing on the ongoing opioid crisis.

For instance, in 2015, a task force was put in place to study opioids and heroin. The goal of this task force is to bring together various players - including pharmacists, policy makers, and emergency medical first responders. They have been working to draft some recommendations to fight the opioid epidemic that has been affecting so many residents and claiming live all across Mississippi.

Some of the recommendations from the task force that the state has been implementing include:

  • Creating a comprehensive website to offer opioid related information in the state
  • Discouraging patients from using long-acting opioid pain relief medications unless they are suffering from acute pain related to cancer
  • Encouraging doctors to write prescriptions for opioids that only last for 3 days
  • Training emergency first responders and law enforcement officials to avoid fentanyl and handle it carefully

The American Department of Health and Human Services also provided Mississippi with a grant for $3.58 million to aid in the fight against opioids. Through this grant, the state was able to implement the recommendations from its task force. The money was used to fund the following initiatives:

  • Creating better guidelines for writing opioid prescriptions
  • Expanding access to professional opioid addiction treatment
  • Implementing prevention strategies
  • Improving drug monitoring
  • Training healthcare providers on the various dangers and risks of opioids

Addiction Treatment in Mississippi

From every survey year, Mississippi is ranked among the 10 states showing the lowest rates of alcohol abuse and dependence in the past year for every age group. However, the rates of drug abuse in the past year have been varying across time.

In 2005 and 2006, for instance, the state was ranked among the top 10 in terms of the high rates of people above the age of 26 years who were abusing drugs and addicted to them. That period, 6 percent of its residents reported that they had taken illicit drugs.

According to the most recent survey from the NSDUH - the National Survey on Drug Use and Health - 6.39 percent of the residents of Mississippi reported taking drugs including prescription medications in 2006. Another 3.08 percent of these residents abused illicit substances other than marijuana within the month before the survey.

The N-SSATS - the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services - for the same year also reported that the state had a total of 112 facilities offering addiction treatment and rehabilitation services.

To be able to overcome your substance abuse and addiction, you are going to need the services of a qualified and accredited addiction treatment and rehabilitation center or program. In such a program, you will receive a wide variety of recovery services, including but not limited to:

i) Medical Detox

Medically supervised detoxification is often the first step in the continuum of care that is addiction treatment. through this service, you will be provided with round the clock medical care, supervision, and help to ensure that you are able to overcome your physical dependence on the drugs that you were abusing.

During this time, you may display withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings - some of which might prove to be so painful and debilitating that you would prefer to continue abusing your favorite intoxicating substances. Examples of these symptoms include seizures, tremors, vomiting, and hallucinations, among many others.

By enrolling in a Mississippi center that offers medical detox, you will be able to manage these symptoms of withdrawal as well as reduce your risk of relapse until you have overcome your physical dependence.

ii) Inpatient Drug Rehab

Towards the end of your medical detox, you may be asked to choose between inpatient and outpatient drug rehab. Inpatient treatment would be recommended if you have a severe and long standing substance use disorder. It might also be ideal if you were also diagnosed with a co-occurring medical or mental health disorder.

In such a program, you will be required to live at the recovery center so you can receive round the clock medical care as well as focus on your ongoing recovery. Inpatient treatment will also involve intensive therapy sessions either on an individual or in group settings.

iii) Outpatient Drug Rehab

Once you have completed medical detox or inpatient treatment, you can progress to an outpatient drug rehab program. This form of treatment would be ideal if your addiction is mild due to the time you spent in an inpatient center, or simply because you have not been abusing substances severely or for a long time. Outpatient rehab might also work if you do not have any diagnosed or unmanaged co-occurring disorders.

However, you may also benefit from this type of treatment if you have obligations and responsibilities that would make it impossible for you to seek help for your addiction on an inpatient basis.

Whether you choose outpatient or inpatient drug and alcohol addiction treatment, the following are some of the recovery services that you will enjoy on the road to full sobriety and abstinence:

  • 12 step and non-12 step support group meetings
  • Addiction education
  • Aftercare programming
  • Art therapy
  • Case management
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy
  • Complementary, holistic, or alternative therapies such as yoga, meditation, tai chi, acupuncture, adventure therapy, hiking, journaling, exercise, music therapy, equine therapy, art therapy
  • Dialectical behavior therapy
  • Dialectical behavior therapy
  • Dual diagnosis addiction treatment
  • Exercise
  • Family therapy
  • Gender specific therapy
  • Group therapy
  • Individual therapy
  • Intensive addiction treatment
  • Medication assisted therapies
  • Methadone management
  • Motivational interviewing
  • Nutritional counseling
  • Relapse prevention techniques
  • Sober living programs
  • Specialized addiction treatment
  • Stress management
  • Suboxone therapy
  • Trauma grounding
  • Vocational training

Getting Help

If you have been struggling with a substance use disorder or you suspect that you may also have a co-occurring medical or mental health disorder, it is recommended that you reach out to a drug and alcohol addiction treatment facility in Mississippi as soon as possible so that you can get the help you need to get started on the road to recovery.

CITATIONS

http://www.dmh.ms.gov/mississippi-awarded-3-58-million-to-combat-opioid-crisis/

https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/index.cfm/31,7620,382,740,pdf/ADHDPrescriptions2012.pdf

https://www.carnevaleassociates.com/our-work/emerging-drug-trends-prevention-issue-brief.html

https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2017/06/11/drug-overdose-deaths-reach-record-mississippi/349433001/

https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2018-11/DIR-032-18%202018%20NDTA%20final%20low%20resolution.pdf

https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-summaries-by-state/mississippi-opioid-summary

https://www.getsmartaboutdrugs.gov/news-statistics/emerging-drug-trends

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234579/

https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/2015_Mississippi_BHBarometer.pdf

https://www.shadac.org/publications/50-state-analysis-drug-overdose-trends-evolving-opioid-crisis-across-states

https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2010/2.0_Drug_statistics_and_Trends.pdf

https://wwwdasis.samhsa.gov/webt/quicklink/MS17.htm


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