Massachusetts Drug Rehab and Alcohol Rehabilitation Treatment Centers and Programs
In 2007, Massachusetts drug and alcohol treatment centers admitted 106,683 patients seeking help for substance abuse. A shocking number were for heroin (36%), nearly as many as for alcohol abuse (41%). Massachusetts ranks well above all national averages for both alcohol and illicit drug abuse and dependency. Trends noted by rehabilitation centers in Massachusetts depict a grim portrait:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues At-A-Glance, Massachusetts
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), December 2008
Massachusetts’ location on the New England Pipeline for drug smuggling from Canada, plus its large port at Boston, contributes in large measure to the easy availability of drugs of all types. Unfortunately, even as the flood of drugs is increasing in the state, the number of treatment facilities is declining. In 2006, there were 312 drug and alcohol treatment centers in Massachusetts, 40 fewer than in 2002. Of these, by far the majority (250) were private non-profit facilities, with private for-profit treatment centers numbering 49. “Private” does not mean exclusive, however, as 67% of all Massachusetts rehabilitation centers receive public funding of some sort.
Programs and services offered by the various treatment centers in Massachusetts vary by funding, staffing, and certification. Over 40% of all Massachusetts rehab centers offer residential care, while 66% provide outpatient services. This gives residents unusually broad choices when it comes to deciding what type of program is best suited to their needs. In addition, perhaps thanks to Massachusetts’ widespread and continuing problem with opiates, 58 facilities offered opioid programs, using methadone or buprenorphine to assist patients through heroin withdrawal. Prospective patients should be aware that not all drug treatment programs in Massachusetts can administer such programs; 73 were certified for buprenorphine along with 276 physicians statewide. The local drug and alcohol treatment center may or may not, therefore, offer the kind of treatment that a medical evaluation of an individual’s addiction might indicate is needed.
Massachusetts residents are more fortunate than citizens of other states when it comes to financial options for drug and alcohol treatment. Massachusetts recently adopted legislation requiring state health insurance agencies to provide unlimited coverage for medically necessary treatment of substance use disorders. This, coupled with mandatory health insurance coverage in Massachusetts, removes many excuses from drug and alcohol abusers who have been reluctant to seek help.
Families should seek treatment at the very first warning signs of substance abuse, especially if they suspect any sort of opiate problem. This includes prescription drugs like Oxycontin as well as street drugs like heroin. The longer such abuse goes unnoticed and untreated, the greater the likelihood of abuse turning into addiction. Massachusetts parents should take special note of the dangers facing their children at school, at parties, and at clubs where their children gather. Many studies indicate that long-term abuse often begins in adolescence. The rates of drug abuse among Massachusetts teens shown below should be enough to make any parent question where their children are.
Early intervention and treatment through one of the many Massachusetts drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers is the best way to keep youthful experimentation from becoming a lifetime of abuse.
- Allston
- Attleboro
- Bedford
- Belmont
- Beverly
- Boston
- Brighton
- Brockton
- Cambridge
- Cataumet
- Centerville
- Chelsea
- Chestnut Hill
- Chicopee
- Concord
- Danvers
- Dorchester
- East Boston
- Everett
- Fall River
- Falmouth
- Fitchburg
- Florence
- Foxboro
- Framingham
- Gardner
- Georgetown
- Gloucester
- Greenfield
- Haverhill
- Holyoke
- Huntington
- Jamaica Plain
- Roxbury
- Lawrence
- Leeds
- Worcester
- Lowell
- Lynn
- Malden
- Marlborough
- Mattapan
- Milford
- Nantucket
- New Bedford
- Newburyport
- Newton
- North Adams
- North Quincy
- Northampton
- Norton
- Vineyard Haven
- Orange
- Pittsfield
- Plymouth
- Princeton
- Quincy
- Rockland
- Rutland
- Salem
- Somerville
- South Boston
- South Weymouth
- South Yarmouth
- Southbridge
- Springfield
- West Springfield
- Taunton
- Tewksbury
- Wakefield
- Waltham
- West Falmouth
- Westborough
- Westfield
- Westwood
- Weymouth
- Hingham
- Woburn
In 2007, Massachusetts drug and alcohol treatment centers admitted 106,683 patients seeking help for substance abuse. A shocking number were for heroin (36%), nearly as many as for alcohol abuse (41%). Massachusetts ranks well above all national averages for both alcohol and illicit drug abuse and dependency. Trends noted by rehabilitation centers in Massachusetts depict a grim portrait:
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues At-A-Glance, Massachusetts
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), December 2008
Massachusetts’ location on the New England Pipeline for drug smuggling from Canada, plus its large port at Boston, contributes in large measure to the easy availability of drugs of all types. Unfortunately, even as the flood of drugs is increasing in the state, the number of treatment facilities is declining. In 2006, there were 312 drug and alcohol treatment centers in Massachusetts, 40 fewer than in 2002. Of these, by far the majority (250) were private non-profit facilities, with private for-profit treatment centers numbering 49. “Private” does not mean exclusive, however, as 67% of all Massachusetts rehabilitation centers receive public funding of some sort.
Programs and services offered by the various treatment centers in Massachusetts vary by funding, staffing, and certification. Over 40% of all Massachusetts rehab centers offer residential care, while 66% provide outpatient services. This gives residents unusually broad choices when it comes to deciding what type of program is best suited to their needs. In addition, perhaps thanks to Massachusetts’ widespread and continuing problem with opiates, 58 facilities offered opioid programs, using methadone or buprenorphine to assist patients through heroin withdrawal. Prospective patients should be aware that not all drug treatment programs in Massachusetts can administer such programs; 73 were certified for buprenorphine along with 276 physicians statewide. The local drug and alcohol treatment center may or may not, therefore, offer the kind of treatment that a medical evaluation of an individual’s addiction might indicate is needed.
Massachusetts residents are more fortunate than citizens of other states when it comes to financial options for drug and alcohol treatment. Massachusetts recently adopted legislation requiring state health insurance agencies to provide unlimited coverage for medically necessary treatment of substance use disorders. This, coupled with mandatory health insurance coverage in Massachusetts, removes many excuses from drug and alcohol abusers who have been reluctant to seek help.
Families should seek treatment at the very first warning signs of substance abuse, especially if they suspect any sort of opiate problem. This includes prescription drugs like Oxycontin as well as street drugs like heroin. The longer such abuse goes unnoticed and untreated, the greater the likelihood of abuse turning into addiction. Massachusetts parents should take special note of the dangers facing their children at school, at parties, and at clubs where their children gather. Many studies indicate that long-term abuse often begins in adolescence. The rates of drug abuse among Massachusetts teens shown below should be enough to make any parent question where their children are.
Early intervention and treatment through one of the many Massachusetts drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers is the best way to keep youthful experimentation from becoming a lifetime of abuse.
- Allston
- Attleboro
- Bedford
- Belmont
- Beverly
- Boston
- Brighton
- Brockton
- Cambridge
- Cataumet
- Centerville
- Chelsea
- Chestnut Hill
- Chicopee
- Concord
- Danvers
- Dorchester
- East Boston
- Everett
- Fall River
- Falmouth
- Fitchburg
- Florence
- Foxboro
- Framingham
- Gardner
- Georgetown
- Gloucester
- Greenfield
- Haverhill
- Holyoke
- Huntington
- Jamaica Plain
- Roxbury
- Lawrence
- Leeds
- Worcester
- Lowell
- Lynn
- Malden
- Marlborough
- Mattapan
- Milford
- Nantucket
- New Bedford
- Newburyport
- Newton
- North Adams
- North Quincy
- Northampton
- Norton
- Vineyard Haven
- Orange
- Pittsfield
- Plymouth
- Princeton
- Quincy
- Rockland
- Rutland
- Salem
- Somerville
- South Boston
- South Weymouth
- South Yarmouth
- Southbridge
- Springfield
- West Springfield
- Taunton
- Tewksbury
- Wakefield
- Waltham
- West Falmouth
- Westborough
- Westfield
- Westwood
- Weymouth
- Hingham
- Woburn
