Opelika AL Drug Abuse Statistics

Opelika is a principal city of the Auburn Opelika Metropolitan area, situated in Lee County, geographically located in the central-eastern part of Alabama. Despite its rich heritage, Opelika readily embraces modern technology and the novelties of the new millennium, which make it a truly progressive city. In fact, with a population of 26,808, this city is known as a progressive city of the South, largely due to its rich cultural, educational, and recreational options. It is interesting to note that the City of Opelika is well known for its golfing as well. Recently, the Golf Digest declared it to be the number one golf location in the United States. However, along with the progress, one major problem faced by the residents of Opelika is that of drug abuse.

It is pertinent to note that drug abuse in Opelika AL is on the rise, as it is in the rest of the State of Alabama. In fact, in 2007 alone, the State of Alabama witnessed 257 deaths due to illicit drug use, while accounting for nearly 28,017 arrests on drug charges. Given the drug addiction statistics, which state that there are 113,000 such cases in the entire state, Opelika is no different from the rest of Alabama and accounts for several cases of drug addiction, especially those involving Heroin and Club Drugs, such as GHB and Ecstasy.

Opelika, like other parts of Alabama, also records a huge amount of sales in illicit drugs, such as Heroin, GHB, Ecstasy, Methamphetamine, and the locally grown Marijuana. However, most drug addiction cases that are referred for rehabilitation involve Club Drugs or Heroin. Along with such illicit drugs, prescription drugs are also commonly abused. These include drugs, such as Vicodine, Hydrocodone, and Oxycontin, which are very popular.

Like in most drug addiction situations, there are several drug teams that help counter this menace. Several Drug Courts in several parts of Alabama have been set up, which are meant for speedy disposal of trials. The establishment of strict enforcement organizations and drug courts was largely due to the fact that, along with adult convictions in drug cases, the juvenile drug abuse cases were also on the rise. According to the Office of the National Drug Control Policy, Drug Policy Information Clearinghouse, there have been 1,118 arrests in the juvenile category for drug possession in 2006 alone, which is a pretty alarming figure for any state that wants to curb this menace.

In addition to creating systems for tackling the drug trafficking issue, the City of Opelika is involved in creating several arenas for helping drug addicts overcome their problems in the form of drug rehabilitation centers. Such centers for overcoming drug addiction in Opelika AL are solely meant to provide holistic help for the affected people so that they can get rid of their problem, which goes a long way in solving the problem of substance abuse in Opelika AL. Such centers ensure that people with a dependency problem are helped to the extent that they refrain from abusing drugs again. This will help restore their lives and promise sober living.