Drug addiction statistics in Los Angeles CA

Home to the entertainment capital of the world, Los Angeles is also one of the largest cities in the United States. A cultural hotspot and Mecca for the rich and famous, the city has a lot of musical and artistic history. The estimated population of Los Angeles is 3,833,995 at present. The city of Los Angeles has always been a hub of immense activity, and it is perhaps for this reason that there is a high rate of crime and substance abuse here.

An alarming fact is that drug addiction in Los Angeles, CA is most prevalent among students. Most drug related crimes are caused due to addiction, and this turns up as a grim fact on any survey. Even so, we see that there are larger numbers of addicts coming out every year. As much as 20-30% of high school students have admitted to taking marijuana at some point.

The city of Los Angeles has been a center for cocaine supply and production for a long time now. Every year, over 2 tons of cocaine is seized, and in 2008, as much as 8 tons of cocaine was seized. Drugs like heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine and club/party drugs like MDMA and ecstasy are commonly available in the city. The high frequency of easily available narcotic drugs in Los Angeles, California is something that has been looked at by the administration to seek revision of drug laws.

The highly dangerous and easily available party drug of choice, MDMA, is among the most easily available drugs in Los Angeles. The partying youth also have an easy access to rave drugs like LSD, which is also easily available throughout the state of California. Places like downtown Los Angeles are the nerve centers of parties and other activities that make for a perfect guise for many rave and party drug users. Meth and cocaine labs are also regularly busted by drug reinforcement agencies on a large scale. A 2008 survey also found out that places like Sunset Strip and almost all places in West Hollywood are greatly exposed to drug risks for students and adults alike.

Surveys have shown that substance abuse in Los Angeles starts off as a weekend party thing with students in most areas. Students begin to experiment with alcohol and marijuana at an early age. Marijuana is clearly the most widely available illegal substance in the entire state of California. The easy availability of other advanced drugs sees these students taking to heroin, cocaine, prescription drugs and club drugs.

Also, the fact that there are some narcotic drugs in Los Angeles, CA like Rohypnol, which is available at stores without prescriptions, does not help. Vicodin, Xanax, Codeine, Valium, OxyContin and Promethazine used with Codeine cough syrup are some of the most commonly abused prescription drugs in the Los Angeles, California area.

The rise of drug addiction and substance abuse in Los Angeles, CA is a problem that can only be tackled collectively. It is absolutely necessary that we do not shun addicts and instead, help them get rid of their addiction by giving them proper care and psychological rehabilitation. Despite the fact that there are many programs already in force in the city of Los Angeles, California to combat drug abuse, it is up to us to create awareness to bring down drug addiction.