Drug And Alcohol Addiction In Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Broward County, home to Fort Lauderdale, Florida suffers from high rates of drug abuse, ranging from Methamphetamine use to prescribed Opioids for pain. Marijuana is the most commonly used drug by people younger than 18 years of age. Abuse of substances like Methamphetamines have increased by 148% from previous years across the state. In particular, Benzodiazepines have been increasingly abused in recent years.
Fortunately, there are many treatment facilities nearby that specialize in varied services including inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation.
Opioid Abuse In Fort Lauderdale
Soaring drug overdose rates are impacting the lives of many Fort Lauderdale residents daily. Most lives lost to drug abuse is due to prescription and synthetic Opioids. Illicit opioids like Heroin and Fentanyl in particular are widely abused, with cases of Carfentanil (another synthetic Opioid, 100 times more potent than Fentanyl) on the rise.
Opioid abuse is common in many drug-related overdoses, often involving Heroin, Fentanyl or other prescription Opioids. Non-pharmaceutical Fentanyl is often found in Broward county overdoses. In addition, fake Xanax pills are found to contribute to drug-related overdoses.
Carfentanil, perhaps the most dangerous Opioid, is a highly potent substance used as an elephant tranquilizer that is finding its way into batches of Cocaine without the user’s knowledge. As a result, people are becoming addicted at alarming rates, and putting themselves at much greater risk of death; the lethal dose is around 2 milligrams. Almost all recent cases of Opioid-related fatal and non-fatal overdose in Fort Lauderdale involve Heroin or Fentanyl. Fentanyl overdoses dramatically increased from 197 deaths to 1,976 deaths in a 10-year timeframe.

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Opioid Abuse Risk Factors
Opioid abuse disorders can impact any individual, but certain individuals are most likely to struggle with Opioids. While not exclusionary or exhaustive, Mayo Clinic lists the following as high risk factors connected with Opioid addiction:
- Poverty
- Unemployment
- Family history of substance abuse
- Personal history of substance abuse
- History of criminal activity or legal problems including DUIs
- Regular contact with high-risk people or high-risk environments
- Problems with past employers, family members and friends (mental disorder)
- Risk-taking or thrill-seeking behavior
- Heavy tobacco use
- History of severe depression or anxiety
- Stressful circumstances
- Prior drug or alcohol rehabilitation
Cocaine Abuse In Fort Lauderdale
Broward County, like Miami-Dade County struggles with Cocaine abuse. While usage has decreased in surrounding areas over recent years, rates of Cocaine abuse and Cocaine-related overdoses are still high, and frequently make news headlines. In June of 2021, local officials seized nearly 1,200 pounds of Cocaine from a vessel coming in to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. The amount they confiscated is estimated to be worth roughly $143. Fort Lauderdale reported of 275 Cocaine-related deaths in 2016 alone.
An increasing number of people are combining Cocaine with other illicit chemicals, a practice known as polydrug use. This increases their risk of overdose as lethal drug combinations often affect the individual more severely. Furthermore, other Cocaine users also face risk of snorting contaminated cocaine, creating higher overdose rates.
Recent Cocaine-related deaths have increased from 2013 to 2018 with the rise of Opioid abuse. Broward County saw 2,228 Cocaine-induced fatal overdoses in the second half of 2016; 15 years prior, in 2001, 1,105 individuals died of a Cocaine overdose. There was a 21% increase in cocaine deaths between 2015 and 2016 alone. Additionally, these numbers included adolescent overdoses, with 7 cocaine deaths for people under 18 years of age in 2016.
Ready To End the Cycle Of Abuse?
Substance abuse can occur for many reasons, but it does not have to be a life sentence. Contact a treatment provider to discover all of your treatment options. People struggling with substance abuse may have underlying, unhealed trauma they may not be aware of. Facilities offering services like counseling may benefit a particular individual while another treatment like equine therapy may be more fitting for another. Don’t feel overwhelmed. Contact a treatment provider today to take the first step towards recovery.
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Krystina Murray

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Krystina Murray has received a B.A. in English at Georgia State University, has over 5 years of professional writing and editing experience, and over 15 years of overall writing experience. She enjoys traveling, fitness, crafting, and spreading awareness of addiction recovery to help people transform their lives.
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