San Francisco, California, Alcohol and Drug Addiction Information
San Francisco, California has a population of 776,733 with an average household size of 2.30.1 San Francisco is located in San Francisco County.
San Francisco is rich in history. Its home to the Spanish mission, The Mission San Francisco de Asis. During the gold rush years, San Francisco was the closest port to the hills where the miners found their riches. In two years beginning in 1848, the population grew from 1,000 to 25,000. The city was rocked by one of the biggest earthquakes this country has ever seen in 1906.
San Francisco is home to the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Giants, the 49ers, the San Francisco Zoo, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf, Aquarium of the Bay, Presidio of San Francisco, the Cow Palace, dozens of museums and art galleries and their famous skyline.
San Francisco California’s Drug Source
The DEA (The US Drug Enforcement Administration)2 reports heroin remains the number one drug of abuse in San Francisco.
Marijuana
Marijuana remains the most widely available and abused illicit substance in California.
Cocaine
Cocaine is also widely available in San Francisco and other areas of northern California.
Prescription Drugs
Doctor shopping and prescription forgery are the primary methods of prescription drug abuse in the Los Angeles and San Francisco metropolitan areas. In Northern California, OxyContin, Vicodin, benzodiazepines and carisoprodol are most commonly abused.
Meth
Methamphetamine is the primary drug threat in California. Mexican organizations continue to dominate the production and distribution of high-quality meth, while a secondary trafficking group, composed primarily of Caucasians, operates small, unsophisticated laboratories. Clandestine laboratories can be found in any location: high density residential neighborhoods, sparsely populated rural areas, remote desert locations in the southern portions of California, and the forested areas in northern California.
MDMA3 or Ecstasy was considered the most popular “club drug” in the state among teens and young adults. The ample supply of LSD is due to the number LSD laboratories operating in remote areas of Northern California, which has been the center of LSD production since the 1960’s. Internet sales of GHB4 and GBL5 persist.
One thing is for certain, for a drug addict, the dwindling spiral will continue on its downward path unless action is taken. NOW is the time to do something before the addicted person winds up in jail or dead of an overdose or accident. Unfortunately past failed attempts to overcome addiction only further depress the individual so it comes as no surprise that fear and hesitation.
In the city of Los Angeles, there is an increased need for effective drug and alcohol rehab and addiction treatment centers as drug and alcohol use continues to escalate. Drug use erodes the quality of life not only for the user, but for their families and communities. Marriages and families are torn apart by mistrust, betrayal, fear and anger. Careers are ruined; companies lose millions of dollars in lost production time; cities and suburbs become degraded by the increased crime and violence that goes with drug trafficking and drug addiction. To do nothing for the addict, should not be an option. Something can be done; help is available.
San Francisco area Drug Related Arrests
December 11, 2008, KPIX news website reported, “5 Arrested in Sting on Alleged SF Crack Ring.” Four men and a pregnant woman were arrested and brought before a federal magistrate in San Francisco Thursday morning on charges of selling or conspiring to sell crack cocaine.
Four of the five defendants are accused in indictments unsealed Thursday of selling the drug within 1,000 feet of a public housing project.
Authorities said the alleged sales were at or near three different projects in the Bernal Heights, Western Addition and Hayes Valley neighborhoods of the city.
December 9, 2008, The San Francisco Chronicle news service reported online, “San Francisco – 2nd Suspect Held in Killing Near Pot Club. Police have arrested a second suspect in connection with the slaying of a man in September outside a Mission District medical marijuana dispensary, authorities said Monday.
Julius H., 24, was arrested Friday at his home in Brentwood, police said. He is accused in the slaying of Roshawn Holden, 23, who was shot to death the night of Sept. 14 as he left the Mr. Nice Guy cannabis club at Duboce Avenue and Valencia Street.
Court records show that H. has a history of drug- and weapons-related offenses. (full news release)
The Damage to Society
In the State of California, and specifically in the city of San Francisco, the effects of drug and alcohol abuse goes way past the the damage done to the addicts themselves. In terms of time lost on the job, to the health system inundated by illness and overdoses to communities harmed by the crime rate caused by addicts looking to steal anything in order to get their next fix, to families living a nightmare as they watch helplessly as their loved one goes further down the chutes. The rollercoaster of emotions, concern and anger seems like a never ending ride the abuser puts his friends and family through. Failures in the past with drug rehab centers further numb the addict to any hope of a future without drugs. It truly can appear hopeless.
Treatment Center Changes Needed
Just in the state of California, there are many different types of drug rehab and treatment facilities. In the United States, there are thousands of drug rehab and treatment centers. Of course the common goal of all addiction treatment programs is to help end addiction for the individual. In California and across the United States, a variety of techniques and methods are being used. Some of the well known treatment methods in California include the twelve step method, relapse prevention, one-on-one counseling, drug rehabilitation, behavioral modification, cognitive therapy, support groups, sober living, therapeutic communities, AA , NA, inpatient, and outpatient drug rehab programs. There are many types of treatment centers available in California, so making a decision can be difficult. Unfortunately, many uninformed people in California go from rehab to rehab looking for the one that is right for them.
In California, there are many attempts being made to meet the needs of drug addicts, but statistics show success rates to be dismally low. What is needed and wanted is a drug treatment which not only handles physical addiction, but finds the underlying reasons why a person turns to drugs in order to free the person forever. What California addicts, alcoholics and their family, friends and loved ones need is a real and effective drug rehab treatment center. One where they are not on a time schedule or use other drugs to get the addict off the original drugs. The addict needs a reliable proven program where when they are done, their drug addiction is a thing of the past and they are now able to live full productive lives free of the stronghold of drugs or alcohol.
Choosing a Drug Rehab and Addiction Treatment Program
What should the goal be of a drug rehab center? Clean and sober for 30 days? While that might be a good short term goal, many treatment centers and 12 step programs still leave the drug addict fighting a continuing battle with addiction. Once an addict always an addict; or it’s a mental disorder they can do nothing about. When choosing a drug rehab center for yourself or a loved one from San Francisco, California, it is important to become educated on the different types of drug rehab and what the end results are.
Should the Drug Rehab Location Matter When it Comes to Finding a Solution to Addiction?
Drug and alcohol addiction typically involves habitual routines in the environmental scope of the individual, i.e. the locations of their drug or alcohol use, the people they associated with in the activities of drug or alcohol use, etc. Drug or alcohol addiction is not just drug and alcohol use, it revolves around people and things in their immediate environment which help to trigger the addictive behavior. The abusers location & routines of drug and alcohol use further trigger drug and alcohol use. It is the constant and seemingly unstoppable drug or alcohol use and the hopelessness of day to day existence which perpetuates the problem and inhibits the native desire to stop ruining their life through the use of drugs and alcohol.
The above factor should not be over looked when considering a treatment center location. The first 2 weeks of treatment are always the most difficult & There many factors at work to make this so. In addition to what has been covered above, a more basic factor is this; people are creatures of habit. Even overwhelmingly positive & beneficial changes in life, such as the birth of a child or a new job does not guarantee the individual will have no thoughts of missing past negative activities such as, drug or alcohol use, drug or drinking acquaintances and other associated activities. Factually this is the normal reactive auto response of most human beings; to do what they are familiar with; good or bad. It is not really that they yearn for these things, it is just all that they have known for some time. If the abuser is close to home when overwhelming feelings manifest themselves, there is a good chance he or she will leave and get back to what they know, drug addiction, as it is not very far away . Due to these factors, attending a drug rehab close to home is seldom the correct treatment option for chronic drug or alcohol abusers. It is extremely therapeutic to be distanced from their former association with drug dealers, bars, the cabinet where the alcohol was kept, the cigar box where the cocaine was stored, etc. All these triggers make the task of sobriety seem insurmountable to the chronic drug or alcohol abuser as these triggers continuously stimulate a reminder of their past addictive behaviors.
For individuals with a severe drug or alcohol addiction problem, choosing a long term inpatient treatment program is another key to a successful outcome.
By providing a new, safe trigger free environment, distanced from past negative associations and surroundings for an extended period of time, the chance for success increases dramatically.
Our program provides people with positive circumstances to increase their chances for a successful recovery. The vast majority of students entering our program, around (80%), are from out of state or from other countries.
Narconon Riverbend helps END addiction and alcoholism FOR GOOD.
Narconon Riverbend produces graduates who are DRUG FREE AND CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS OF SOCIETY. Narconon Riverbend has a success rate in excess of 70%, as compared to 15-20% for more traditional treatments. Narconon Riverbend is a long-term treatment facility, something that is more and more vital in fully handling the onslaught of newer and more potent substances, including a dramatic increase in prescription drug abuse.
The Narconon program steps are entirely drug-free; that is, the Narconon drug rehab program does not use drugs or medications to solve the problems caused by drugs, but does use nutrition and nutritional supplements as an important component of its delivery. Thus the program is neither a psychiatric nor medical, but a social education model of rehabilitation.
A Narconon Program Graduate is someone:
- Who has completed the Narconon drug rehab program;
- Who knows he is, in fact, capable of living a drug-free life thereafter;
- Who has improved his or her ability to learn and thus can accept new ideas on how to change life for the better;
- Who has personally absorbed the fundamentals of ethics and morality well enough that he or she can be productive and contributive to society and will have no further troubles with the justice system;
- Who knows how to solve the problems of life in a rational manner to the best of his ability, without the use of mind-altering drugs.
Call now and request a copy of Healing Addicted Lives written by Gary W. Smith, Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor and Director of Narconon Arrowhead Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation and Education Center.
Call anytime to speak with one of our counselors about our program. We will take the time to answer your questions whether it be for yourself or a loved one. It is possible to replace the loss and pain of alcohol or drug addiction with a productive, enjoyable life.
Call now (877) 340-3602.
1 San Francisco stats courtesy of http://www.maps-n-stats.com/ (Link to Data)
2 DEA Website facts for California
3 MDNA: Ecstasy (Full Definition)
4 GHB: “Date Rape Drug” (Full Definition)
5 GBL: “Date Rape Drug” (Full Definition)
Drug Rehab by State