North Carolina
It should be noted that these North Carolina substance abuse statistics are not intended as an academic reference. The data collected is from State and Federal sources.
North Carolina Addiction Treatment Statistics
The National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services survey found that North Carolina had 400 treatment facilities. 211 listed as substance abuse treatment, 137 facilities listed as mental health and substance abuse treatment services.
In March of 2010, the report indicated 33,029 individuals enrolled in substance abuse treatment with an additional 2,016 clients under the age of 18 enrolled in alcohol and drug treatment services as well.
Approximately 21% of North Carolina addiction treatment programs offer detox of some kind. Only one quarter of the existing drug and alcohol rehabs in North Carolina offer mental health services along with addiction treatment services.
Many individuals struggling with addiction also have a co-existing mental disorder, such as depression, anxiety, or post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The combination of addiction and a mental health disorder is called a dual diagnosis. For individuals with a dual diagnosis, it is essential to treat both issues simultaneously.
Alcohol Addiction in North Carolina
According to the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (SAMHSA) in 2011, approximately 45% of all admissions to substance abuse treatment facilities were for alcoholism.
North Carolina's Alcohol Fact sheet for 2013 reflected that 28% of alcohol-related accidents were fatal crashes or 324 crashes. An additional 5,306 alcohol-related crashes were non-fatal crashes and 5,172 were alcohol related property damage only crashes.
In 2012, there were 93 deaths related to alcohol. (NC Division of Public Health, 2013)
Each year between 2009-2012, 406,000 individuals aged 12 and older, were dependent on or abused alcohol. (NSDUH 2009-2013).
Commonly Abused Drugs in North Carolina
The North Carolina Injury and Violence Prevention 2009-2012 stated that opioids, prescription drugs, and OTC drugs accounted for 68% of the drugs that led to unintentional poisoning deaths.
Cocaine, heroin and/or methamphetamine and other narcotics are associated with 60% of all deaths.
In a single day count in 2013, 40,575 individuals in North Carolina were enrolled in a substance abuse treatment program. That was an increase of 28,997 people from 2009.
91.2% of all those using illicit drugs DID NOT receive substance abuse treatment between 2009-2013.
Marijuana leads the state’s most abused drug followed by cocaine.
Cocaine
Admissions for cocaine abuse can be divided into two groups, those that smoke cocaine and those that ingest cocaine by other means (snorting, injecting, etc). In 2010, 5,463 people were admitted to drug treatment for smoking cocaine, and an additional 2,157 individuals entered treatment for ingesting cocaine through other means than smoking. Of all the illicit drugs, cocaine was the most prevalent substance in unintentional poisoning deaths.
Heroin
North Carolina, like the rest of the country, has seen an increase in heroin use and heroin deaths in just a few years. 38 people died of heroin overdose in 2010 compared with 183 in 2013.
Marijuana
In 2010, North Carolina law enforcement agents made 20,983 marijuana arrests. Possession accounted for 56% of those arrests.
Other Drugs
In North Carolina, Ecstasy (MDMA) has increased in popularity. Ecstasy is especially popular among high school and college-aged individuals (15-25 years of age). Other popular “club drugs” in North Carolina include GHB, LSD, PCP, and ketamine. A combination of these and other drugs accounted for 9,584 people who went to drug addiction treatment.
Prescription Drugs
Prescription drug abuse is widespread through North Carolina and is continuing to increase. The Office of National Control Drug Policy (ONCDP) claims that the widespread prescription drug abuse in North Carolina is due to the ease by which prescription drugs in North Carolina are obtained. 7,097 people received treatment for opiate addiction other than heroin in 2010.
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine in North Carolina remains readily available. It is primarily available in crystalline form, often called “crystal meth”. Crystal meth in North Carolina is especially abundant in large metropolitan centers of the state, but it is becoming increasingly available in rural areas as well. In addition, there were 846 people admitted in 2010 for amphetamine addiction treatment.
North Carolina Drug and Alcohol Fatalities, Injuries and Drug Court Statistics
Between 2009-2012, 1830 children ages 1-17 were admitted to the emergency room due to drug poisonings. Adult residents are “four times more likely to be hospitalized and nine times more likely to seek treatment from an ED for unintentional non-fatal overdoses than to die from an unintentional poisoning.” (NC Division of Public Health 2013)
According to the State Library of North Carolina, Digital Collection there were 45 Drug Treatment Courts in 2009-2010,12 Family Drug Treatment Courts (parent respondents adjudicated for child abuse, neglect and/or dependency seeking custody of their children), and 4 Juvenile Drug Treatment Courts in 21 judicial districts in North Carolina.
North Carolina Drug and Alcohol Addiction Resources
- Alcoholics Anonymous(go to the AA main page, click on find a meeting, follow link to state pages, click on North Carolina)
- Narcotics Anonymous
- Alanon and Alateen Family Group
