While Baltimore, Maryland has for over ten years borne the unhappy distinction of having one of the largest populations of heroin abusers in the United States, the state overall ranks among the bottom ten in the nation for alcohol dependency and illicit drug use among children under 17. This bit of good news/bad news offers some hope to Maryland parents feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of threats facing their children. They should remain on the alert, however. Maryland’s location in close proximity to several large population centers means that drugs of every description are freely available and widely used. Marijuana and cocaine lead the pack, followed by Ecstasy, oxycodone diverted from medical use, and, to a small degree, methamphetamine. Maryland is fortunate in that meth has made only small inroads there.

Trends reported by Maryland drug and alcohol treatment centers show a steady decline in admissions for alcohol treatment, and a subsequent spike in drug admissions, from 24% in 1992 to 41% in 2005.

Over 65,000 people sought treatment at one of the 371 drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation centers in Maryland in 2006, taking positive steps to avoid becoming one of the 788 Marylanders who died from drug overdoses that year. Maryland rehab facilities offer a wide range of services; most provide some form of outpatient treatment, while 82 also offer residential care. Not all provide the same programs; however. Only 51 have opioid treatment programs, so individuals should take care when evaluating drug and alcohol treatment centers in Maryland that they present the proper mix of counseling, detoxification, and behavioral therapy required to treat the particular type of addiction. While 45% of all Maryland rehab centers contract their services to hospitals and other organizations and 54% receive some form of government funding to operate, the program in any given local area may or may not have adequate funding, staffing, or facilities to deal with every sort of substance abuse.

Over and over, studies, including Maryland’s own 2007 Outlook and Outcomes Report, show that much substance abuse starts at a young age. Over 70% of individuals admitted to Maryland drug and alcohol treatment programs in 2007 said that their first instance of substance use occurred during adolescence. Some 49% of marijuana users first tried it before the age of 15. As the chart below demonstrates, children as young as 14 are experimenting with a wide variety of harmful, often addictive substances. About 16% of Maryland 8^th graders admitted to abusing inhalants at least once. Parents would do well to educate themselves on the signs and symptoms and seek early intervention to prevent experimentation from blossoming into addiction. Centers for drug and alcohol treatment have a better chance of producing good outcomes if treatment is sought early on.

There is little chance of any addict “getting clean” without professional help, especially given the highly addictive qualities of modern drugs and the insidious pull of alcohol. Drug and alcohol treatment centers in Maryland offer hope to families faced with the devastating problem of substance abuse.