Drug addiction in Baker

Often referred to as the Great American Hometown, Baker, Louisiana is situated in East Baton Rouge Parish and has a population of 13,483 people as per recent estimates. Home to the annual Baker Buffalo Festival, Baker raises money every year during the festivities to raise money and make donations to local schools and educational institutions.

The regions first settlers came here in the early 18^th century to set up plantations along its banks on the Mississippi River. Baker was named after the owner of the Baker Plantation, Josephus Baker, and is today a city that enjoys the best of both worlds as a prime Baton Rouge suburb and a small town community.

That said, Baker is a city that has had to deal with various substance abuse problems, given its proximity to the state capital of Baton Rouge. In Baker Louisiana drug addiction has now become a stark reality, much to the horror of the tightly-knit local community and local government.

Due to its transportation networks, mostly two highways and several roads that lead to Baton Rouge, drug traffickers have exploited the opportunity to distribute narcotics and prescription drugs to the populace in order to expand their drug cartel business. Baton Rouges own deepwater port gives access to many DTOs coming in from Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela via the Gulf of Mexico to spread their tentacles across the state and subsequently, neighboring areas of Baton Rouge like Baker.

Crack cocaine is a popular drug of choice in both metropolitan and rural areas due to it being cheaper than pure cocaine. As the predominant illegal drug threat in this region, crack has led to many violent crimes associated with its abuse. Local gangs and independent dealers are the prime parties dabbling in the retail distribution of this drug.

As one of the most toxic illegal substances in the world, meth is mostly transported into cities like Baker by Mexican cartels. Due to its high potency and lower cost, meth is fast becoming a major threat and is often referred to as the poor mans cocaine. Homegrown meth labs producing this substance are aplenty, and the ingredients used in the making of crystal meth are easily available in general and drug stores. Though meth is often perceived as being the white mans drug, it now has many takers among African American communities as well.

The abuse of club drugs like LSD, ketamine and ecstasy is rising steadily in Baker Louisiana. Such substances are often transported to East Baton Rouge Parish by DTOs in Florida, Texas, California, and also by Vietnamese cartels.

What is most worrying, however, is the rampant abuse of FDA approved prescription drugs, which is growing steadily and is contributing toward the increasing drug addiction statistics in Baker, Louisiana. Many see these legal substances as being far more accessible and cheap, and owing to their legal status, drugs like Vicodin, Xanax and Oxycontin are becoming popular recreational drugs of choice.

Fortunately, the rehab centers in Baker LA have opened their doors to local society by establishing 24/7 help lines so that residents can enroll themselves in comprehensive, individualized programs to better their lives and break free from the substance abuse menace.