Massachusetts Addiction Treatment Centers And Recovery Resources
Massachusetts stands at a crossroads for drug trafficking in the Northeast. Product is smuggled in mostly via private vehicles from the drug hub of New York City. From Massachusetts, dealers distribute product to Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Because of the ease of obtaining drugs, the Bay State also has some of the highest rates of abuse in the country. These age groups, for example, stand out among the highest:
Past Month Illicit Drug Use Ages 12-17;18-25
Past Month Marijuana Use Ages 12+; 12-17; 18-25
About 10% of residents, age 12 and older, reported past month illicit drug use, according to National Survey on Drug Use and Health. That’s 537,000 people.
This abuse comes with a cost: In one recent year, Massachusetts law enforcement agencies reported 20,626 arrests for drug abuse violation—by far the highest number among any crime. The next closest was larceny-theft with 12,302 arrests.
Many of these violators will spend time in one of over 300 Massachusetts drug treatment programs as part of their sentencing. Indeed, over 11,000 residents every year enter addiction recovery therapy.
If you or someone you love has a drug addiction, find help with Recoverycorps.org’s database of treatment centers. Below are some commonly abused drugs in Massachusetts.
Cocaine Addiction
How big a problem is cocaine in Massachusetts? Law enforcement says the white powder is one of their biggest threats. In one recent bust in Revere, police seized 200 pounds of cocaine worth $10 million.
In Federal drug cases, cocaine and crack cocaine account for nearly 60% of the sentences. And in high schools, 11% of seniors say they’ve tried cocaine at least once in their lifetimes.
In any given year, cocaine addicts represent about 5,000 of the admissions to Massachusetts drug treatment programs.
Club Drugs
Club drugs like MDMA (usually referred to as ecstasy or X) are widely available and abused in the state. Other club drugs such as Ketamine and GHB are abused less frequently.
Asian gangs are the primary traffickers of ecstasy into New England via New York. However, sometimes the drug is made in state. In 2009, a major ecstasy-manufacturing lab was seized in Nantucket by the New England Clandestine Enforcement Team.
Heroin Addiction
Heroin, according to Massachusetts law enforcement, represents the biggest threat.
Heroin represents 16% of the total Federal sentencing cases in the state, second only to cocaine.
And by far the largest number of admissions to Massachusetts drug treatment centers are heroin addicts—40% or about 25,000 every year. Addiction recovery for heroin is difficult; many of these admissions are not first-timers.
Dominican and South American traffickers are responsible for bringing most of the heroin into the state. Once there, local dealers sell to residents. In Cape Cod, a dealer was busted selling heroin out of his Jet Ski business.
Methamphetamine Addiction
According to the DEA, meth is rarely abused in the state. Residents who do abuse meth are usually between 18 and 25 years old. Also, some in the homosexual community are reported abusers.
Marijuana Addiction
Marijuana is the most frequently abused drug in the state. In one survey, nearly 13% of Bay Staters reported using marijuana in the past year. And 25% of high school students reported marijuana use at least once in the past month.
Most of the marijuana in Massachusetts comes from Mexico, the Southwest U.S. and Canada. Several times in Newburyport, police have made multi-million dollar Canadian-grown marijuana busts.
In rural western Mass., some residents grow and sell their own marijuana. A man in the tiny town of Colrain was arrested for growing cannabis plants behind his house. In Epsom, police seized a $7 million home growing operation after the power company complained about the amount of electricity the resident was using.
Pharmaceuticals
Oxycodone (Oxycontin) is one of the most abused prescription drugs in the state. Methadone and Vicodin are also commonly abused.
These drugs are obtained by health care fraud, doctor shopping, ordering from illegal online pharmacies and false prescriptions. Some dealers even rob pharmacies.
In one year, 148 of the 166 pharmacy thefts that were reported in New England occurred in Massachusetts. In Mansfield, robbers stole several million pills worth $2.5 million from a prescription drug warehouse.
Drug Laws
Massachusetts law classifies drug charges this way. The quantities and circumstances dictate the charges.
- Drug possession
- Drug possession with intent to distribute
- Possession with intent to distribute within a school zone
- Trafficking
The law classifies five types of drugs in classes from A to E.
- Class A includes heroin, morphine, GHB and Ketamine
- Class B includes cocaine, prescription opiates like Oxycontin, Percocet, and Methadone as well as LSD, MDMA, PCP and meth.
- Class C includes Valium, Vicodin and related drugs, mescaline, mushrooms and other hallucinogenics.
- Class D includes primarily marijuana.
- Class E includes charges for lighter doses of prescription narcotics containing codeine (Tylenol #3), morphine, or opium.
Getting Help at Massachusetts Drug Treatment Centers
Recoverycorps.org makes getting addiction help easy. Contact the nearest Massachusetts drug treatment program from our list.
The 11 Most Common Mass Addiction Recovery Services
- Screening for substance abuse
- Screening for mental health disorders
- Comprehensive substance abuse assessment/diagnosis
- Comprehensive mental health assessment/diagnosis
- Drug urine screening
- Individual counseling
- Group counseling
- Discharge planning
- Aftercare/continuing care
- Case management services
- Social skills development
Source: The National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services
To find help with your addiction or the addiction of a friend, select a city to see local rehab program, recovery facilities and treatment centers.