Substance Abuse In California
Substance Abuse In California
California is the most culturally diverse and the most populous state in the United States, with an estimated 36,961,664 individuals living here. As one of the most fertile areas in terms of agricultural production, The Golden State also contributes a large chunk of the country’s overall GDP.
As the home of Hollywood, California serves as a melting pot for the music, performing arts, and movie industries. The affluence of some Californian cities is well known all over the world, and the lifestyle and culture in the entire state pioneers global trends. The Californian administration is also in the news for setting landmark laws that pave the way for a rich interbreeding of cultures, thus ensuring that the intelligentsia of the state keeps growing every year.
That said, substance abuse in California is one of the few issues that the state has had to deal with time and time again. Drugs like heroin, cocaine, marijuana, forms of methamphetamine and prescription drugs are widely used, abused, and distributed in the state. The cultivation of marijuana and other drugs is prevalent in the northern part of the state and south of California border.
Mexican drug traffickers continue to plough drugs like cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamines to cater to the bustling demand here. The state and the federal drug reinforcement agencies have taken many initiatives to curb drug supply and trafficking due to the danger posed regarding California becoming a transshipment zone for illegal drugs. Drug activity along the California-Mexico border is the main threat to the region, as shipments of drugs are transported across the border in hidden vehicle compartments and even through a network of underground tunnels.
Marijuana is the most widely available illicit drug across the state. High quality weed comes from Canada into the country, while Mexican seizures of marijuana are the highest among all drugs in terms of quantities sold. These seizures have shown a growth rate of more than 150% per annum for marijuana, which also reflects upon the efforts of local drug reinforcement agencies. Other than Mexican marijuana, potent forms of the drug are also grown in the central and northern areas of the state. The majority of marijuana users who go in for rehabilitation belong to the age group of 18 and below.
However, methamphetamines are the largest threat identified by the California state authorities. More than 40% of all drug arrests made in the state comprise of meth offenders. The problem is particularly rampant among the prison population of the state. Another astonishing fact is that an overwhelming majority of meth users are women.
Meth labs in California mostly operate in the rural and sub-urban areas. Though a major portion of the meth available in California comes in from the south, labs in the northern and the central part of the state serve as major suppliers. About 80% of the meth that is available in California comes in through Mexican drug trafficking organizations.
The worst affected region for meth abuse is San Diego, as large quantities of the drug are brought into the city by drug traffickers. The city of Los Angeles is another major transshipment zone for drugs into the country. Due to the rich culture and affluent lifestyle, drugs in the southern cities are easily available, and drug addiction in California keeps growing among the youth.
Cocaine is another drug that is easily available at cheap prices. As the most widespread drug in the state, cocaine and its derivatives are available throughout the region. Every year, more than 8 tons of cocaine is seized along the Californian borders and within the state itself. Cocaine and crack continue to remain popular in the age group of 15-25 years, and even though growth rates for cocaine have gone down, the alarming increase in new users is extremely distressing.
One of the worst forms of substance abuse is heroin abuse. A significant proportion of the heroin available in California comes from the southern parts of the state via Mexico. South American heroin has also been seized in the state in significant quantities, and most of the heroin trafficking is done by gangs that are active in different areas. Heroin has also shown alarming trends in recent years.
Though the overall percentage of California drug addiction cases related to heroin has come down recently, the average age for new consumers of heroin has shifted from 27 years to 18 years. Heroin is also the drug that leads to the maximum number of addiction related deaths. Cheap black tar Mexican heroin available to the young across the nation is a poison that needs to be eliminated immediately.
Party and club drugs like MDMA, LSD, and ecstasy are also a major threat for most of the metropolitan cities in California. Regions in the northern part of the state continue to produce large quantities of LSD in makeshift labs in rural or deserted areas. Substance abuse in California is rampant among the partying population. Another point to note is that LSD, PCP, GHB, Ketamine, MDMA and prescription drugs are closely related to crime and violence among their users.
Los Angeles and some of the northern cities are the worst affected regions for abuse of these ‘other dangerous drugs’. The young population is succumbing to the lure of these hard drugs, and as a result, police authorities and citizens have to unite their efforts to prevent this social disease at any cost. Though the decrease in the overall number of party drug users has come down by a whopping 50% in most areas, new admissions from teens is the most alarming fact to consider.
The state government, along with the assistance of the DEA and other state and federal organizations, has made a lot of headway into substance abuse and drug addiction in California. Cities like San Diego and San Francisco have recorded the maximum drug abuse figures, with over 12-15% of the total population admitting to abusing drugs. As such, initiatives need to be taken by people on the most basic level to be able to uproot this problem drug addiction in California.
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