For centuries substance abuse and addiction has been a problem, usually in cities with large numbers of people and discrete dealings. Dealers are able to easily hide amongst the vast numbers of residents and even visiting tourists. So how then are the numbers of those abusing, addicted, and overdosing so high in rural small towns? One reason could be that most small towns have been hit just as hard by the opioid epidemic as cities if not more. Those living in smaller towns typically have to work in strenuous jobs that have high risks for injuries and sickness. These injuries can lead to prescription opioids being prescribed and many people need to dull the pain so that they can keep working to support their families. These opioid prescriptions are often a slippery slope into heroin use, a cheaper alternative with the same effects. Many people in rural towns are also older with chronic pain and the prescribed opioids “help” with this as well. When these people cannot stop working they will do anything to avoid their pain and losing their incomes. Many people in small towns own and operate small businesses. These small businesses also have small security budgets. Many have ineffective security budgets for cameras and alarms. Knowing this, addicts who need money to fund their addiction feel braver to break in or rob these businesses. This also holds true for homeowners. Many do not have alarms or security measures so they are more susceptible to robberies. In addition, smaller towns have less police and they can only be in so many places at once and it often takes longer for them to arrive at the scene of a crime and lack the funding to hold investigations into small matters. Dealers in these regions understand that and use it to their advantage. Dealers are also more willing to use violence to get away knowing that their are only few who could know or come after them. While there are less people to blend in with in rural towns, less people also means less people to see them if they are under the influence or dealing. Many dealers in these areas are looking for a way to make some quick easy money and after the fame of the TV show “Breaking Bad,” methamphetamines have become a knowingly simple means to an end.
Access to Addiction Treatment & Care
In small towns there is typically less to do. Many TV shows and movies when depicting small towns show bars and pubs full of people drinking, mostly because there isn’t much else to do. While cities may offer multiple cinemas, malls and shopping centers, theaters, parks, and other forms of entertainment, small towns may only have one of each, if at all. With not much to do, teenagers and young adults often result in entertainment at parties and an escape from their boredom with different substances. The start of experimenting with substances is risky. Once they find their “escape” they may turn to it continually, building their tolerance, and eventually becoming addicted. Becoming addicted in a small town poses its own risk. Many small towns do not have the addiction treatment centers or the ability to help those with addiction at the small facilities they do have. Without the access to health workers many people do not notice their addiction and can never offer the needed information to help them. Many of these addicts do not know how to get the treatment they need, and when they ask for help they are often referred to a drug abuse hotline, which can only do so much. It is nearly impossible to get the holistic treatment centers in these areas because of funding and medical resources. Addicts then continue on the road of addiction and often find themselves ending in overdose. Many clinicians and physicians see people coming into clinics for clean needles that have driven hours, often bringing their entire family who are also addicted. Some report of patients coming into the ER, detox from their substance, and then within a few days they return to using their substance again which is also a cause for overdoses. They try to get these patients into a treatment center but the ones close by are filled to capacity with a waiting list and it is difficult for them to get in. Many doctors see patients from counties over because the addicted was too afraid to visit their own local doctor in fear of the town finding out but what they don’t know is that most of their town is also addicted.
Addiction is not just isolated to cities, to one type of person, or one gender. Addiction is a cruel and unbiased disease that wreaks havoc on millions in all corners of the country and the world. The best defence against addiction in these rural towns is education about drugs and how they can easily lead to addiction. Doctors informing their patients about the risk of addiction and how they can avoid it, doctors can also try to use other prescriptions instead of opioid based prescriptions to treat patients. Family members and friends knowing early signs of addiction can help reach out to the one addicted and try to get them the help they need before it becomes dire. It may also be in the best interest for family members to look at facilities that are further away that do not have such long wait lists for addiction treatment. Many facilities can offer help in getting to their treatment centers. It is important to look at all options to ensure the safety of your family and your community.
Get the Addiction Treatment Help You Need
If you or a loved one is suffering from addiction, regardless of how big or small your town is, remember that help is always available. Our admissions team here at Recovery Ways, the premier drug rehab in Salt Lake City, can review your insurance benefits and find the best option for addiction treatment. Please call 1-888-986-7848 immediately.
