Substance Abuse Statistics in Garden City

Garden City lies in the county seat of Finney County, Kansas. The city lies on the north side of the Arkansas River in the High Plains region of the Great Plains. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richardson Zoo, the largest zoological facility in western Kansas. Drug abuse statistics in Garden City Kansas clearly point toward the rising incidence of drug addiction.

The economy of Garden City is driven largely by agriculture. Health services also account for a large share of employment. Garden City is served by St. Catherine Hospital. Additionally, the Southwest Kansas Surgery Center, Heart Center, Cancer Center, and Maternal Child Center provide additional employment, as well as several other health-related businesses.

Garden City has a total area of 8.5 square miles and as of the 2000 census, there were 28,451 people, 9,338 households, and 6,760 families residing in the city with the population density of 3,334.1 people per square mile. The rising abuse of drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, meth, and marijuana, states clearly that the incidence of drug addiction in Garden City KS is rising.

Mexican poly-drug trafficking groups control the majority of drug trade in Kansas. Drug traffickers from Mexico use these smaller suburban settlements as thoroughfare routes to supply drugs throughout the state. Predatory drugs, such as ecstasy, are widely available throughout the state. The younger generation in Garden City is fast falling prey to predatory drugs, which are easily available to them. Apart from these drugs, the adolescents of Garden City are found abusing prescription drugs, which has taken the drug abuse statistics in Garden City Kansas higher.

Besides drug abuse, the incidence of alcoholism in Garden City Kansas is also rising fast. Here too, the younger generation is reported more vulnerable. The rising number of driving under influence cases points toward this glaring trend.

The DEA finds these quite suburbs more difficult to screen in their hunt for peddlers and drug trade routes. The law enforcement agencies have been able to bust several drug rackets; however, the Garden City KS narcotic abuse statistics draw a poor picture of the state. Operation Pipeline has been quite successful in catching a number of drug traffickers on national highways passing through the State of Kansas. The state has reported a number of cases where the drug proceeds have been exchanged through local businesses, such as casinos. Drugs shipped through private vehicles escape the eyes of the law enforcement officials and reach a larger number of people.

The rising number of drug addicts has resulted in the growth of drug rehab centers in Garden City. Drug rehab centers in the city offer different types of treatment options. These centers concentrate on providing specialized treatment for every drug abuse case. The hard-core drug addicts have to follow rigorous treatment and medication schedules, while those patients who have just begun abusing drugs follow a less stringent treatment method.

The incidence of drug abuse in Garden City Kansas has brought disgrace on it and must be checked before the situation goes out of control.