Missouri Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Programs

Missouri is known for its Ozark Mountains and busy urban centers - among other factors that work hand in hand to make it one of the most appealing locations in the American Midwest.

Even so, however, hundreds of thousands of its residents continue struggling with a wide variety of substance use disorders. From legal substances like prescription opioids and alcohol to illicit drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine, addiction has been taking its toll on the state.

Statistics on Substance Abuse in Missouri

According to recent reports, it is estimated that close to 500,000 residents of Missouri suffer from a substance use disorder. Of this number, around 4 percent are aged between 12 and 17.

Among these people, about 38170 received treatment for their addiction in 2016. 27% of these people - around 10470 - were parents who had dependent children while 47 percent - around 17837 - had co-occurring mental health disorders.

These groups of people - as well as other segments of the population of Missouri - often find that they require highly specialized treatment and rehabilitation services that are tailored to meet their unique needs and circumstances.

The Treatment Episode Data Set - or TEDS - for 2009 reported that 48628 people checked into addiction treatment and rehabilitation centers in this state. Of this number, 31.5 percent were female while the remaining 68.5 percent were male.

In 2006, Missouri had 257 facilities providing treatment services for addiction. This number did not change since 2002. Of these facilities, 67 provided residential or inpatient care while 10 facilities had departments specialized in treating opioid dependence and addiction.

The same year, the rates for alcohol dependence and abuse were relatively higher than average for every age group in the state. At the same time, the rates of drug abuse and dependence were below the total national averages.

That said, people between the ages of 18 and 25 struggled the most with unmet rehabilitation needs for alcohol use disorders. This condition ranked the highest in the entire country for this population.

On the other hand, the figures for unmet treatment needs and drug dependence varied greatly from one year to the next. That said, many people in the state also struggled with serious psychological disorders - which are increasingly becoming more connected with substance use disorders.

Commonly Abused Substances in Missouri

Recent data shows that Missouri has been witnessing an increase in the use of methamphetamines and marijuana over the past 20 years. Between 1992 and 2006, for instance, admissions into rehab centers for drug use disorders only took 45 percent of all admission - which tripped during this period.

Stimulants, on the other hand, were the 2nd most commonly abused class of intoxicating and mind altering substances - including methamphetamine - among people who checked into addiction treatment centers in 2007.

Three years later in 2010, Missouri was added to the increasing number of states that implemented a prescription database to regulate the abuse, overuse, and misuse of this class of drugs.

Other commonly abused substances in Missouri include:

1. Alcohol

The same year, 10600 people checked into addiction rehabilitation centers in the state citing alcohol use disorders as their primary drug of abuse. An additional 8605 people received similar treatment for co-occurring addictions involving alcohol and a secondary substance of abuse.

2. Cocaine

In 2010 also, 3277 people checked into rehab centers for a substance use disorder linked to cocaine abuse. Smoking was the most common mode of administration for this drug. This is because only about 673 people received treatment for crack cocaine and regular cocaine after using it through methods others than smoking.

3. Heroin

The same year, 4341 Missouri residents checked into rehab centers for a heroin addiction. The rates of overdose from this drug had also increased in some counties in the state.

4. Marijuana

Cannabis was cited as the most commonly abused drug in the state in 2007. In fact, 12052 people received ongoing treatment and rehabilitation for marijuana abuse, dependence, and addiction.

Most of those who received this form of substance abuse treatment were between 21 and 25 years old. Similarly, 79 percent of all the people who checked into rehab centers for this problem were males.

5. Amphetamine and Methamphetamine

In 2010, Missouri saw 5088 people admitted for an amphetamine addiction. At the moment, there are no figures showing the number of people who received treatment for methamphetamine abuse and addiction. However, all reports show that this number has been increasing rapidly over the past few years.

6. Other Drugs

The same year, the main drug categories for which people entered into rehab centers in the state were tranquilizers (486 people) and PCP (326 people). The rate of admissions for PCP was also slightly higher in this state than in the rest of the country.

7. Other Opiates

The Treatment Episode Data Set reported that 2922 people checked into treatment centers for opioid drugs other than heroin. Additionally, the largest segment of the population that received this form of addiction rehabilitation was aged between 21 and 25 years old. Similarly, the percentage of women and men who underwent rehab for other forms of opioid use disorders excluding heroin was fairly equal.

Statistics on Drug Courts, Fatalities, and Injuries in Missouri

Although the total number of seizures of meth labs have been reduced significantly in some states, Missouri shows different trends. In this state, the number of such labs that were seized rose from 1261 incidents in 2007 to 1732 incidents in 2009.

In 2007, 16 task forces in law enforcement worked in the parts of the state that had the biggest risks of drug use, sale, and trafficking. The same year, the number of deaths linked to substance abuse in the state were fairly consistent with figures from the national level.

In particular, Missouri lost 730 lives to drugs in 2007 in comparison to the 1054 deaths that arose from motor car and traffic accidents and the 759 deaths that were related to firearm incidents.

In 2011, the Madison County State Attorney reported that the number of crimes related to heroin in this state shot up by 30 to 40 percent. At the same time, heroin deaths more than doubled from the previous year. This was in comparison to 2005 when Missouri only made 630 arrests related to drugs.

Opioid Abuse, Dependence, and Overdose in Missouri

The abuse of opioid pain relief medications like Vicodin and OxyContin - as well as heroin and fentanyl has been increasing in this state for the past few years. As such, it does not come as a surprise that the rates of overdose deaths linked to opioids is also on the rise.

The CDC - or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - reported that Missouri was among the 26 states that saw a significant rise in the number of overdose deaths linked to drug abuse between 2015 and 2016.

In 2016, for instance:

• 1 out of every 66 deaths that happened in the state was linked to an opioid or a heroin overdose incident
• The state also lost 908 lives to an opioid overdose - a figure that was a 35% increase from the previous year
• The total mortality rate from drug overdose in Missouri covered 23.6 lives lost for every 100,000 people - about 1371 deaths; this rate was higher than the total national average (19.8 deaths for every 100,000 people)

Between 2012 and 2016, on the other hand:

• Deaths from a heroin overdose shot up by close to 81 percent from 201 deaths to 380 deaths across the state
• Deaths arising from a synthetic opioid overdose rose by more than 355 percent from 97 deaths to 441 deaths

In particular, the eastern part of Missouri was the hardest hit by this opioid crisis. In particular, St. Louis County in general and St. Louis in particular saw the highest number of deaths linked to an opioid overdose between 2012 and 2016.

Addiction treatment experts now believe that the increase in opioid related overdose deaths is linked to the improved purity of some opioids, usage patterns involving drug combinations, high rates of opioid painkiller prescriptions, and injection drug use.

Addiction Prevention and Treatment in Missouri

To counter the drug abuse menace, Missouri has been implementing a wide variety of treatment and prevention programs across the state. This is because access to effective addiction treatment and rehabilitation services is an important facet in the fight against drugs all across the United States.

Some of the statewide initiatives that Missouri has instituted to prevent, decrease, and treat substance use disorders include:

• The Missouri Overdose Rescue and Education Project
• The Missouri Strategic Plan for Prevention
• The Partners in Prevention Project
• The School Based Prevention, Intervention and Resources Initiative (or SPIRIT)

Apart from these initiatives, the state also has a needle exchange program and syringe service that provides intravenous drug users with the opportunity to get sterilized supplies of injections. These programs are designed to reduce the risks of sharing needles - such as improper disposal of needles and disease transmission.

If you live in Missouri and you are struggling with a substance use disorder, there are many rehab centers and programs in the state that you can turn to for the help you need to stop your dependence on drugs and alcohol.