Vermont Drug Rehab and Alcohol Rehabilitation Treatment Centers and Programs
When it comes to drug and alcohol abuse and dependency, one of the smallest states in America has one of the biggest problems. Vermont ranks among the top of all 50 states in nearly every substance abuse indicator, including least perception of risk in binge drinking and using marijuana. Admissions for alcohol treatment, as reported by Vermont drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation centers, are nearly four times the national average. These are depressing statistics indeed.
National Outcome Measures, Vermont 2008
U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Over 15,000 Vermont residents struggled with alcohol and illicit drug use in 2006. Just over half received treatment in a recognized Vermont drug and alcohol treatment facility. SAMHSA reports some troubling trends related to those admissions, particularly with regard to drinking. Since the previous report in 2003-2004, past month underage drinking by individuals age 12 to 20 shot up from 33.35% to 38.29% in 2005-2006. Binge drinking in this group also rose dramatically, from 24.05% to 28.02%. Admissions to Vermont rehab facilities show the growing numbers admitted for alcohol abuse as well as for marijuana and an increasingly troubling category: “other opiates.”
Opiate-based prescription drugs and synthetics include many pain and stress relievers based on oxycodone and hydrocodone. Oxycontin, Vicodin, Xanax, and Valium are all widely abused in Vermont, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), either by accident or deliberately. The diversion of pharmaceuticals to nonmedical use is accelerating across the United States as teenagers sell stolen pills to each other, street gangs provide them at raves, gyms, and other youth hangouts, and unscrupulous medical practitioners write illegitimate prescriptions for desperate addicts. Prescription drug abuse can strike any household, any age group. Street drugs are no longer the only major “drug” problem that sends Americans to drug rehabilitation centers.
Vermont citizens have access to 40 drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation centers located in the state. Two are operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs; 34 are private nonprofit facilities and four are private for-profit clinics. Nearly all receive public funding of some type, whether local, state, or federal, which greatly expands access to Vermont residents. A “private” clinic, therefore, is not necessarily the exclusive domain of the affluent in Vermont.
About half of all Vermont rehabilitation facilities are geared exclusively for substance abuse treatment; the rest also include mental health services. Ten have residential programs; the rest provide services on an outpatient basis. People struggling with opiate addiction and hoping for methadone programs are limited to two facilities that offer opioid detoxification and four that offer maintenance programs. Buprenorphine, a newer drug used like methadone, was limited as of 2006 to 35 physicians certified to administer it in Vermont.
Drug and alcohol treatment programs vary from clinic to clinic, so prospective patients should always educate themselves as to local options and discuss the various treatment modalities with their doctor before deciding upon a course of action.
When it comes to drug and alcohol abuse and dependency, one of the smallest states in America has one of the biggest problems. Vermont ranks among the top of all 50 states in nearly every substance abuse indicator, including least perception of risk in binge drinking and using marijuana. Admissions for alcohol treatment, as reported by Vermont drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation centers, are nearly four times the national average. These are depressing statistics indeed.
National Outcome Measures, Vermont 2008
U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Over 15,000 Vermont residents struggled with alcohol and illicit drug use in 2006. Just over half received treatment in a recognized Vermont drug and alcohol treatment facility. SAMHSA reports some troubling trends related to those admissions, particularly with regard to drinking. Since the previous report in 2003-2004, past month underage drinking by individuals age 12 to 20 shot up from 33.35% to 38.29% in 2005-2006. Binge drinking in this group also rose dramatically, from 24.05% to 28.02%. Admissions to Vermont rehab facilities show the growing numbers admitted for alcohol abuse as well as for marijuana and an increasingly troubling category: “other opiates.”
Opiate-based prescription drugs and synthetics include many pain and stress relievers based on oxycodone and hydrocodone. Oxycontin, Vicodin, Xanax, and Valium are all widely abused in Vermont, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), either by accident or deliberately. The diversion of pharmaceuticals to nonmedical use is accelerating across the United States as teenagers sell stolen pills to each other, street gangs provide them at raves, gyms, and other youth hangouts, and unscrupulous medical practitioners write illegitimate prescriptions for desperate addicts. Prescription drug abuse can strike any household, any age group. Street drugs are no longer the only major “drug” problem that sends Americans to drug rehabilitation centers.
Vermont citizens have access to 40 drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation centers located in the state. Two are operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs; 34 are private nonprofit facilities and four are private for-profit clinics. Nearly all receive public funding of some type, whether local, state, or federal, which greatly expands access to Vermont residents. A “private” clinic, therefore, is not necessarily the exclusive domain of the affluent in Vermont.
About half of all Vermont rehabilitation facilities are geared exclusively for substance abuse treatment; the rest also include mental health services. Ten have residential programs; the rest provide services on an outpatient basis. People struggling with opiate addiction and hoping for methadone programs are limited to two facilities that offer opioid detoxification and four that offer maintenance programs. Buprenorphine, a newer drug used like methadone, was limited as of 2006 to 35 physicians certified to administer it in Vermont.
Drug and alcohol treatment programs vary from clinic to clinic, so prospective patients should always educate themselves as to local options and discuss the various treatment modalities with their doctor before deciding upon a course of action.
