Substance Use in Columbia
Nearly 20 million Americans battle with substance abuse and addiction. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2019 over 70,000 deaths in the United States were due to a drug overdose. A recent study from WalletHub ranked Missouri third in the nation for drug use. Missouri also sees more drug-related arrests than any state in the country. A study by SAMHSA revealed that in Missouri, an annual average of 37,000 residents of the state aged 18 or older have used illicit drugs within the past year. This accounts for 5.8% of the population. An estimated 419,000 Missouri residents struggle with a substance use disorder.
Columbia, and Missouri in general, saw an increase in drug overdose deaths over the past decade. The opioid epidemic and methamphetamine crisis in Columbia are contributing factors to the increase in substance abuse and fatal overdoses. The number of opioid-related deaths has increased significantly since 2015. In Columbia and Boone County, 51 people died from an Opioid overdose over the course of 4 years from 2013 to 2017, according to the Missouri Department of Health. In 2018, 1 in every 56 deaths in the state of Missouri was opioid-related.
Midwest recovery centers are available to combat the substance abuse problem facing the region. A combination of first-class facilities, holistic approaches, clinical assessments, and innovative individual and group therapy sessions address the core issues that lead to addiction. Arista Recovery is an alcohol and drug treatment center committed to helping individuals and families in the Columbia area combat and overcome alcohol addiction, drug addiction, and co-occurring mental health disorders.