Illinois Drug Rehab
Illinois alcohol and drug rehab addiction treatment Information
With Chicago, Illinois as the major transportation hub and distribution center for illegal drugs throughout the Midwest, due to its geographic location and multi-faceted transportation infrastructure. Drug trafficking and use in the Chicago area are at very high levels. According to the drug abuse Warning Network, Chicago leads the nation in the estimated number of cocaine-, heroin-, and PCP-related hospital emergency room mentions, and was second in the nation in the estimated number of marijuana-related mentions during 2008. There are three general classes of trafficking groups responsible for the bulk of the drugs distributed in Illinois: Mexican poly-drug trafficking organizations, Colombian cocaine and heroin trafficking organizations, and Nigerian criminal groups trafficking in Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin. Organized Chicago-based street gangs such as the Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, and Latin Kings control the distribution and retail sale of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.
The biggest drug epidemic Illinois faces is the abuse of crack cocaine. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, there were an estimated 14,871 cocaine-related hospital emergency room mentions in Chicago—the highest in the nation—during 2008. Treatment admissions for cocaine abuse more than doubled in Illinois since 1990, according to the Illinois Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse. More than 58 percent of the 879 drug-related deaths in Chicago during 2008 were cocaine-related. Over the past decade, heroin distributors in the Chicago area have established strong links with traffickers from all four source areas—Mexico, South America, Southeast Asia, and Southwest Asia. In effect, these distributors have access to a steady supply of high purity, white heroin at competitive prices from multiple suppliers. The Chicago Police Department rates heroin as the second greatest drug threat in its jurisdiction, due to increased sales and abuse. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN, there were an estimated 12,564 heroin-related hospital emergency department mentions during 2008, the highest in the nation for a third year in a row. Larger numbers of new suburban users are contributing to the resurgent popularity of heroin. These newer users travel from the suburbs to Chicago’s West Side to purchase the drug. Heroin is only sporadically available in other parts of the state.
Along with the drug problem Illinois also has an alarming crime rate. With 45,629 inmates housed in the states prison, most serving time are on a drug related sentence’s. Ranking number 7th in the nation for violent crime Illinois faces a war in which it may never win against drugs, and violence. With a total of 14,456 arrests of violent drug criminals in 2008, the statistics shows the government is doing everything they can to clean up the state of Illinois.
The biggest drug epidemic Illinois faces is the abuse of crack cocaine. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, there were an estimated 14,871 cocaine-related hospital emergency room mentions in Chicago—the highest in the nation—during 2008. Treatment admissions for cocaine abuse more than doubled in Illinois since 1990, according to the Illinois Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse. More than 58 percent of the 879 drug-related deaths in Chicago during 2008 were cocaine-related. Over the past decade, heroin distributors in the Chicago area have established strong links with traffickers from all four source areas—Mexico, South America, Southeast Asia, and Southwest Asia. In effect, these distributors have access to a steady supply of high purity, white heroin at competitive prices from multiple suppliers. The Chicago Police Department rates heroin as the second greatest drug threat in its jurisdiction, due to increased sales and abuse. According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN, there were an estimated 12,564 heroin-related hospital emergency department mentions during 2008, the highest in the nation for a third year in a row. Larger numbers of new suburban users are contributing to the resurgent popularity of heroin. These newer users travel from the suburbs to Chicago’s West Side to purchase the drug. Heroin is only sporadically available in other parts of the state.
Along with the drug problem Illinois also has an alarming crime rate. With 45,629 inmates housed in the states prison, most serving time are on a drug related sentence’s. Ranking number 7th in the nation for violent crime Illinois faces a war in which it may never win against drugs, and violence. With a total of 14,456 arrests of violent drug criminals in 2008, the statistics shows the government is doing everything they can to clean up the state of Illinois.
