Drug Addiction in Mississippi

Rural Southern States Often Suffer Less from Addiction and Abuse

Like most Southern states, Mississippi's substance abuse problems are well below that of the natioanl average, especially compared to states with much larger metropolitan areas. However, the state also ranks almost dead last in quality of life development in the nation alongside West Virginia and Arkansas. Therefore the effects of poverty, lack of education, and employment opportunities offer significant vulnerabilities for addiction problems to exploit.

In spite of chronic heroin and cocaine abuse and trafficking in New Orleans, nearby population centers such as Biloxi and Jackson do not share this problem, like much of the rest of the South. Part of the reason is that Mississippi's population is spread out and not prone to amassing in large urban areas. These areas often do not rely on major drug trafficking, either, so people with addictive tendencies tend to end up abusing legal drugs in larger numbers. Today this primarily means alcohol and prescription narcotics. The abuse of these drugs is prevalent everywhere but is also usually under-reported because many people hide their alcoholism and drug addictions.

American society does much to hinder addiction treatment in this sense because prescription drugs and alcohol are acceptable to most people and also to the government and media. Even those who are not tempted into trying these substances see advertisements encouraging them to drink and try prescription medications every day. Even clear-cut abuse of alcohol is acceptable to much of our society today, especially amongst teenagers and young adults who are also more likely than most to suffer from alcohol poisoning or overdosing on combinations of alcohol and prescription drugs such as Xanax and Vicodin.

This is one of many reasons for the need for proper education about the nature and possible solutions to drug addiction problems. Distributing the message that binge drinking and chronic use of prescription narcotics is dangerous to people's health would be just the beginning. One of the most mis-understood parts of the addiction crisis is the prevailing belief that quitting cold turkey and relying on friends and family to attain sobriety is effective and can work for most people. But any individuals' will to be healthy can no more defeat a physical addiction to drugs than it can heal body parts afflicted by cancer. A physical addiction's worse trait is that the brain itself craves the rush of chemicals brought about by a strong dose of narcotics and will put someone through mental and physical torment in order to get it.

This is why addiction treatment is necessary for taking care of so many countless people in the country today. Chronic addicts not only ought to be removed to safe environments where they do not have the option of relapsing, but also need to be grouped with others who are experiencing the same process and feelings. Most importantly, addiction treatment counseling and therapy must be applied over the course of at least 3 months in order to re-build psychological and emotional health. The temptation to get high again will always come back to haunt a recovering addict, and most often it is a poor state of mental health or emotions that are the determining factor. Our Center for Addiction Recovery creates specialized addition treatment programs for all of our patients in order to best empower them in the coming months and years ahead. Please contact us if anyone you know is in such a crisis and need an effective solution to a chronic addiction.

Mississippi cities with high drug abuse trends: Jackson, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Brandon, Biloxi, Meridian, Columbus, and Vicksburg

Mississippi counties with statistically high substance abuse: Hinds, Harrison, Desoto, Rankin, jackson, Forrest, Madison, Lee, and Lauderdale

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