Sweetwater, Florida, is a small city in the central part of Miami-Dade County, Florida. It has a population of 20,989 people, which is a 54.3 percent increase since 2010. It boasts the largest population of Nicaraguans and Nicaraguan-Americans in the U.S. and is appropriately nicknamed “Little Managua” by locals.
As it is located near the energetic and bustling city of Miami and its ever-busy port, it stands to reason that drug abuse afflicts the people here. Cocaine has always been one of the top drugs abused in the county, and it affects Sweetwater also, along with other opioid-related substances.
The area has long fought the war on heroin, and along comes fentanyl and fentanyl analogs to add salt to the city’s fight against drug wounds.
Locals and tourists alike can be tragically affected by drug overdose and drug abuse. The good news is that some of the best substance use treatment centers are located within an easy commute of Sweetwater and its surroundings.
Sweetwater Drug Rehab Statistics
When you review the drug abuse statistics for Sweetwater and Miami, you will soon see that opioids have a death grip on the area. As such, drug rehab in the area mostly deals with opioids, as indicated in this report.
- 10.5% of Miami-Dade residents were treated for cocaine or crack addiction from 2014 to 2018.
- Heroin (13.5%) and prescription opioids (3.4%) came behind cocaine/crack addiction treatment
- More men than women treated for addiction abused cocaine/crack and heroin, and more women than men were treated for prescription opioid abuse.
- People over the age of 35 accounted for the most treated for cocaine addiction, and people between ages 26 to 34 accounted for those treated for heroin and prescription abuse.
Commonly Abused Substances
The most commonly abused substances in Sweetwater are fentanyl, cocaine, prescription opioids, and heroin. Among prescription opioids abused are oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone. Also, the number of people admitted into addiction treatment for marijuana abuse rose almost 25 percent in 2018.
Fortunately, there are respected substance use treatment centers, like Family Recovery Specialists, in the area to help individuals end their substance use.
Sweetwater Drug Rehab History
Miami-Dade County, where Sweetwater is located, has seen significant growth in population in recent years. As the city and county continue to experience a population boom, with it comes an increase in drug use. The statistics show that drug abuse is an ongoing problem, as noted by Miami-Dade Matters. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogs are the primary culprits for drug poisoning deaths in the county.
Opioid abuse is the No. 1 drug in the nation taking lives, with 128 people dying per day. Synthetic opioids and fentanyl come through the Port of Miami and are distributed throughout the county and state.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that 50,000 people in the U.S. died from opioid-involved overdoses in 2019. The ample supply of and rampant use of prescription opioids, synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, and heroin, is not only a national public health crisis but a local one too.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sent a notice to the country in 2019 that the Mexican drug cartels were shipping in major quantities of counterfeit prescription pills that likely contained fentanyl. As a local news station relayed from the DEA, “Capitalizing on the opioid epidemic and prescription drug abuse in the United States, drug trafficking organizations are now sending counterfeit pills made with fentanyl in bulk to the United States for distribution,” said DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon.
Outpatient Rehab: What Is It?
The first step in drug rehab is acknowledging you have a drug addiction and need help. This is one of the most difficult things to do, and it is a major step in the direction of becoming drug-free. Most people who have been abusing opioids will need medical detox, which is a medically supervised process your body will go through to rid itself of all toxins and restabilize. Opioid withdrawal can produce some very distressing physical and psychological symptoms, which medical and addiction specialists are trained to handle.
When you have finished detox, the next step is either a residential addiction treatment program or an outpatient drug rehab program. Residential programs are inpatient substance use treatment programs that provide a safe environment away from addiction triggers and everyday stress so you can focus on what caused your addiction. Therapies are tailored to what you think you will need and want.
Family Recovery Specialists offers an intensive outpatient program (IOP), which is the highest level of treatment in which you can live at home. It entails more than eight hours of clinical services per week. IOP will give you quality time in behavioral therapies with your main therapist. Group and family therapy sessions are also included in IOP. You will spend a good amount of time finding the root of your addiction and how to prevent relapse.
Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disease. Relapse happens to many people as they work hard toward becoming free from drugs. However, it should never be seen as a failure. Forty to 60 percent of people relapse, according to NIDA. In this specialized outpatient drug rehab program, you will work with a therapist to create a personalized relapse prevention plan. Over time, it may need adjusting to better fit with where you are on your journey to recovery.
Each step of drug rehab follows a strict continuum of care, which was developed by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) to place, admit, transfer, or discharge people struggling from addiction and co-occurring conditions, such as depression or anxiety.
Outpatient Treatment in Sweetwater
If you live in or near Sweetwater, outpatient treatment is about 20 minutes away and readily available. Family Recovery Specialists is a local addiction and mental health treatment center offering outpatient drug treatment and addiction treatment programs for adolescents. Teens are vulnerable to the pressures from peers to experiment with drugs. They are also not ready to adequately cope with mental health conditions, such as depression, social anxiety, and stress. If parental supervision and guidance are lacking, adolescents may feel they need drugs to help them deal with life.
Outpatient drug rehab does not have to “break the bank.” There are several ways to pay for addiction treatment that you may not have realized. Health insurance from the Affordable Care Act covers some types of substance use treatment.
If you have this type of insurance, check your policy to see what is covered. Privately paid insurance also covers addiction treatment. Medical loans or small loans from your bank may also be an option. At the very least, you can contact Family Recovery Specialists and ask about the cost of treatment and how to pay for it.
Don’t let drug addiction ruin your life, or worse—take your life.
