Year over year, Louisiana continues to rank above the national average for drug dependency and abuse, though usually at or below the average for alcohol abuse. The drug problem in Louisiana starts with cocaine and encompasses marijuana, meth, and an “alarming” rise in the abuse of prescription drugs like Xanax, hydrocodone, and Oxycontin, per a December 2007 report from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Marijuana, the gateway drug for many others, is the most widely abused illicit substance in the state of Louisiana, but crack cocaine tops the list of problem substances. This flood of illegal drugs, smuggled in from Mexico and the Caribbean, makes the network of drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation centers in Louisiana all the more important.

As of 2006, the most recent year for which data is available, there were 145 treatment facilities in Louisiana. Services and types of treatment vary; most, about 72%, offer some sort of outpatient treatment. Residential care can be found through 47 of these rehab centers, and 10 offered opioid treatment programs. In 2006, 63% of all drug and alcohol treatment centers in Louisiana received state, local, or federal funding in the form of grants or other public financing. Many contract to hospitals and other managed care organizations to offer substance abuse treatment programs. The choices for Louisiana families facing substance abuse problems are therefore fairly broad, but they should be aware that not all rehab centers and programs may offer the type of care their own problem requires.

The chart below shows the most commonly-treated substance abuse problems observed by Louisiana drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers. Note that many newer drug threats like methamphetamine are on the rise. One factor to evaluate when choosing a rehab facility is the depth of its experience with addictions to meth or prescription opiates. The relatively low cost of meth and the purity of prescription drugs are highly attractive to both new users and to long-term addicts, making them an increasing threat, especially to young people who can get such drugs fairly easily at raves, clubs, gyms, and even the home medicine cabinet.

In Louisiana as across the nation, young people under age 25 continue to be at high risk of someday needing a drug and alcohol treatment center. With the exception of cocaine, Louisiana’s high school students ranked higher in every category of drug use than adults:

This upward trend among Louisiana’s young people toward experimenting with marijuana and other drugs is consistent with many other states and should be an indicator that no region, no town, is really safe from a drug war that may seem far distant from everyday life. For families in Louisiana, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers offer one more resource to fight a battle that could someday land on their own doorsteps. Seek treatment at the first suspicion of a drug or alcohol problem, in order to lessen the impact of the addiction and to increase the chances of a long-term positive outcome.