Fort Myers/Cape Coral Drug Abuse Statistics

Fort Myers is the seat of Lee County in Florida State. The city combines with Cape Coral to make the Fort Myers/Cape Coral Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the year 2008 there were about 586,908 people living in the area and the figures have been rising since then. The warm weather and the lovely coast that the Fort Myers/Cape Coral area offers, makes it the ideal place to stay. In fact the place is so welcoming that the famous Red Sox Baseball Club has established its spring training camp here.

18% of the population of Fort Myers/Cape Coral is under 25 years, and sadly they make for a great target when it comes to drug abuse. With Miami remaining the largest source of Cocaine, several cities of Florida, including the Fort Myers/Cape Coral MSA, provide inroads to the mafia for trafficking and transporting the drug to all other parts of the county. This gives these youngsters easy access to cocaine and from here begins the journey to a full-blown addiction. Illegal drugs have therefore become a huge issue in the region.

Considered the primary drug threat within the state of Florida, Cocaine has ruined several lives. The drug is sold in various forms and is abused in many ways, too. Addicts in the Fort Myers/Cape Coral region may sniff, inject or eat the drug, depending on their level of addiction. The drug works by attacking the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain and causing an immediate surge of pleasure. Once this feeling dies off the person is left tired, drained and craving for more.

The younger generation is driven either by peer pressure or other similar issues to try out the drug that seems to be sold in the Fort Myers/Cape Coral MSA in variations of gram to kilograms. Once the kids begin to depend on the drug, the situation worsens. Sadly, when it comes to illegal drugs, cocaine is not the only problem that this area faces. Heroine, Methamphetamine, MDMA and other similar club drugs, Marijuana and several other illegal drugs are widely used in Fort Myers/Cape Coral by teens and adults alike. Needless to say, this has given rise to an alarming increase in the rate of deaths due to drugs.

This is the reason why the Drug Enforcement Administration of the country is focusing on Fort Myers/Cape Coral with aggressive methods. Mobile enforcement teams have been set up that scan the region repeatedly and try and keep the streets as clean as possible. While these measures do seem to be helping to bring the drug related crime rate down, they are not helping to better the health of the addicts and this is why attention is being paid towards drug rehabs too.

Several drug rehabs are being set up in the Fort Myers/Cape Coral MSA. These focus on helping the addicts go through the initial detoxification stage and then find enough mental strength to fight the desire for the drug. These rehabs have helped many people get their lives back from the clutches of cocaine and other similar drugs.