Mississippi’s substance abuse issues lean more toward drugs than alcohol, due in no small part to its location on a few of the biggest shipping corridors in the country. Smuggling of drugs through the state has been a problem for Mississippi’s authorities for a long time, and a lot of that illegal cargo finds its way to the state’s people. Of over 21,000 admissions to Mississippi’s drug and alcohol treatment centers as of 2005, almost thirteen thousand were for drug issues. Of all illegal drugs used in the state, meth and cocaine are the biggest threats- and as we all know, both of those addictions are very difficult to beat.

According to reports by Mississippi’s rehab centers, the state ranks way below the national average for alcoholism, but among the top ten states as far as drug addiction and abuse are concerned. Every drug category has seen an increase, and drug-only admissions have doubled in the last fourteen years. Admissions for alcohol treatment have been declining for a long time.

These disturbing facts further illustrate the need for early detection and proper treatment of drug addiction. The younger a person is when they first use drugs or alcohol, the greater chance they have of becoming addicted at some point. There are numerous studies that show that most addictions begin in the teenage years. Most people in Mississippi, like everywhere else, think that it can’t happen in their family- but this chart proves otherwise.

Office of National Drug Control Policy, Drug Policy Information Clearinghouse

State of Mississippi Profile of Drug Indicators

September 2008

Drug sellers are going after a progressively younger customer base, and teenagers in Mississippi, like so many other states, are obtaining prescription pills and either using them or selling them to their friends- so really, no family is immune to the threat that drugs pose, and odds are, most of us will be touched in some way by drug addiction.

Mississippi’s drug and alcohol treatment services are offered by 112 centers statewide. Of those, forty seven are government operated, and fifty eight are private and nonprofit, with the remaining few being private, for profit entities. Over sixty percent of Mississippi’s drug treatment centers receive public funding. This gives the people of the state a lot of choices when it comes time to seek drug or alcohol treatment. The state spent over twenty million dollars in 2006 to help its people get the help they need, in a mix of residential and outpatient services.

Mississippi is far behind the competition in the amount of money spent on drug help, and the number of places where people can go to get treatment. People seeking drug or alcohol rehab in Mississippi need to be persistent and patient when they are looking for help. Of all Mississippi’s drug treatment facilities, over seventy percent are outpatient-based. There are thirty nine centers in the state that offer residential care, which is needed for more severe addictions. If you need the help of an opiate addiction program, you will probably have to go far afield to find it, because there is only one drug treatment center in Mississippi that offers such a program. Also, there were six programs and sixty nine doctors were licensed in the dispensary of buprenorphine as of 2006.

If you or a friend or relative has an addiction, there is help available. Check with your physician, they will evaluate you and refer you to an appropriate Mississippi drug and alcohol treatment program.

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