DRUG DEATHS CONTINUE TO RISE IN TEXAS
While officials say drug overdose deaths are on track to fall in the United States—data indicated deaths in Texas are once-again expected to increase, something addiction experts attribute to problems with methamphetamine and cocaine in the state.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects a 5-percent drop between 2017 and 2018. However in Texas, overdose deaths are expected to be up 1.5-percent from 2017.
University of Texas addiction researcher Jane Maxwell attributes methamphetamine and cocaine problems in Texas as the cause of the yearly increase.
Maxwell says the problem is compounded by the lack of effective treatments for those addictions.
Increases in overdose deaths in Texas, though, are projected to be much smaller than in previous years, compared to 2016, when they increased by 4% and the year before by 7.4%.
The CDC expects to record 3,028 overdose deaths in Texas in 2018, up from 2,984 in 2017.
There are plenty of treatment options out there for people. The real causes for these increases are actually because the drugs people are using are mixed up with A LOT more chemicals and other items and because people nowadays do not want to get help or to be told what to do. People may as well be using pure baby formula, baking soda, baking powder, and some ajax cleaning solution these days
The problem in Texas is that instead of trying to find the proper treatment for these individuals, they lock them up in prison and they get no help so when they come out they are back to square one doing the same things. The sad part is that a lot of these individuals that become addicts have mental health problems like ptsd, depression, bi-polar and many other issues that cause them to feel the need to self medicate. If the state would find ways to help these individuals once they are in the system, I believe the number would drop tremendously. The deaths would drop, the repeat offenders who suffer from mental health issues would drop.