Tucson, Arizona has a population of 486,699 with an average household size of 2.42.¹  Tucson is the second largest city in Arizona located in Pima County. Tucson is located in the Sonoran Desert, the only place in the world where the saguaro cactus grow. Go-Arizon.com describes Tucson as being cradled by five mountain ranges and is showered with sunshine 300 days a year with the average temperature of 70 degrees. 

Tucson is home to world-class spas, challenging golf courses, Pima Air and Space Museum, the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium, art galleries, Tucson Museum of Art, the Casino of the Sun, Tucson Botanical Gardens, McFarland State Historic Park, the Arizona Opera, Berger Performing Arts Center, the Arizona Diamond Backs Baseball team, and so much more.

Tucson Arizona's Drug Source

The DEA (The US Drug Enforcement Administration)² reports that the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas are major transshipment points for cocaine distribution from Arizona throughout the United States. Cocaine is shipped from Colombia by air, land and sea to controlled regions in Mexico, where it is then transported to staging areas near the Arizona/Mexico border. Transportation groups aligned with the major Mexican cartels smuggle the cocaine into Arizona typically utilizing commercial trucks, private vehicles, animal caravans and backpackers.

Marijuana remains widely available in quantities up to multi-hundred pounds packaged for delivery. Tucson and Phoenix are commonly used as stash locations until the loads are ready to be sent to their final destination.

There are two types of methamphetamine available in Arizona, Mexican-produced and locally produced methamphetamine. Mexican-produced methamphetamine is the most predominant type encountered in the state and is frequently smuggled across the Southwest Border (SWB) where it transits through Arizona. The locally produced methamphetamine originates from independently owned and operated laboratories that are responsible for yielding small quantities for local consumption.

Current investigations indicate that the diversion of oxycodone products (such as OxyContin®) and Percocet®) and hydrocodone products (such as Vicodin ®) , continues to be a significant problem in Arizona. Primary methods of diversion being reported are illegal sale and distribution by healthcare professionals and workers, “doctor shopping” (going to a number of doctors to obtain prescriptions for a controlled pharmaceutical), forged prescriptions, employee theft, and the Internet. During 2007, there were 42 incidents of thefts from pharmacies, specifically for OxyContin type products. Benzodiazepines (such as Xanax®), codeine, Dilaudid®, and methadone were also identified as being among the most commonly abused and diverted pharmaceuticals in Arizona.

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 Tucson, 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.

Tucson Area Drug Related Arrests 

December 18, 2008, the AZStarNet.com ran this story out of Tucson, Tucson Man Gets 4 Years for Role in Drug-Related Killing. They reported, A Tucson man who pleaded guilty last month to negligent homicide in an April 2007 drug-related homicide was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday by Pima County Superior Court Judge Richard Nichols.
Sergio Morales-Galaviz, 21, and a friend were on their way to a store when four men in an Infiniti sedan cut them off in the 900 block of West Hawaii Drive, near West Drexel Road and Interstate 19, according to Tucson police.
Morales-Galaviz and the friend jumped out of their vehicle and ran, but Morales-Galaviz was shot in the back and his friend was hit over the head.
A back-seat passenger in the Infiniti told authorities Anthony Sanchez Bejarano was after Morales-Galaviz for stealing about half a pound of methamphetamine, according to court documents.
(full news release)

December 10, 2008, KOLD News ran an online news story, Drugs, Money Suspected in Violent Crime Spike.  They gave details on three violent crimes and then noted, "Again, three very different cases. But what each has in common is drugs."
(full news release)

The Damage to Society
In the State of Arizona, and specifically in the city of Tucson, 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 Arizona, 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 Arizona and across the United States, a variety of techniques and methods are being used. Some of the well known treatment methods in Arizona 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 Arizona, so making a decision can be difficult. Unfortunately, many uninformed people in Arizona go from rehab to rehab looking for the one that is right for them.
In Arizona, 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 Arizona 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 Tucson, Arizona, 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.

• 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.