What a year 2016 has been for everybody! Earlier this year we lost David Bowie on top of many other talented musicians and actors shining under the Hollywood spotlight. This year we had a presidential election that shocked the United States and will bring about some big surprises and changes to come. This year was a bit of an emotional doozy and has come to an end with many falling in love and many being heartbroken. One way or another, 2016 has come and gone and we are left looking at all the pieces that created this puzzling year. We are left looking at all the deaths and misfortunes as we sit and wonder, “what happened?” Of all these pieces, one occurrence worth taking note on was the rapidly growing drug epidemic in South Florida and the rest of the United States. Addiction and alcoholism are imminent threats that have taken their slaves and grown tremendously in numbers over the past two decades. With specific chemicals flooding the streets and accessibility to narcotics growing, it’s truly baffling to predict what 2017 has in store for the ranks of us chemically dependent individuals.
Dawn of the Dead Living and the Living Dead
One of the larger issues to be focused on is the introduction of Carfentanil to the sunshiny state. This is a narcotic that is essentially guilty for the terrifying increase in Florida overdose rates in 2016 specifically. It is the most potent opioid used commercially for large animals typically and never meant for human consumption. The smallest dose of this narcotic can bring a 2,000-pound elephant down and out cold. It is reported to be one hundred times stronger than Fentanyl which for years used to be one of the biggest enemies to opiate addiction. That’s saying something right there. Carfentanil makes regular Fentanyl look like child’s play. So this substance used for large mammals as such, it’s now being cut into heroin to make it stronger and to stretch dealers’ supplies. That being said, the heroin hitting the streets today is nothing like it used to be and is a lot more dangerous. Individuals with the most promising of futures wind up in the middle of this war zone of a drug epidemic in South Florida. The increase in drug overdoses since the drug hit the street is jaw dropping.
The ironic thing about South Florida is that the area is literally the number one recovery capital of the world. The amount of addicts and alcoholics arriving to South Florida for help every day is alarming. Although it is not airborne or contagious for that matter, addiction is spreading like wildfires. Too many human beings are making their way down to the bottom of the panhandle state for help but are winding up in hospitals and body bags as they introduce themselves to the potent drugs that aren’t anything like they were back home. The reality of the situation is that many come down to South Florida for help but end up being in worse situations than if they had stayed in their hometown doing what they’d been doing. That alone is one of the saddest parts of this epidemic. There are so many promising people that are really looking for help and wind up talking to the wrong person at the wrong time. The disease of addiction and alcoholism want us dead and it’s getting its way. Many personal friends have overdosed in 2016. Some of these friends recovered out of the hospitals they were revived in and some of these friends took their last breaths this year. One way or another, the numbers are higher than they have been any other year previously. It is projected that by the end of this year, the 12-month total of those who have died of drug overdoses involving heroin and other opiates will exceed 800 in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties when combined together. That number is just opiate induced overdoses alone. Drugs like “Flakka” that started their own tornado of chaos are nothing in comparison to something like that of Carfentanil and the heroin that is running things right now. It’s amazing how there is always a bigger, badder enemy out there than what’s really staring us in the eyes.
Of the three counties mentioned above, all three have nearly doubled their overdoses for the year when in comparison to 2015. For 2016 specifically, drug overdoses- death or not, have increased by nearly 200% since the previous year. Those numbers don’t lie and are likely to increase in 2017. This is the reality of addiction and alcoholism. We have addicts/alcoholics all over that are seeing this drug epidemic in South Florida take place and are still willing to participate in it. The reality of the matter is that there will always be a supply and demand for getting high, regardless of what issues are taken care of and what ones stay on the market. If Carfentenil is removed and taken care of somehow, the next big thing will show face and replace it. Unfortunately there is not really a solution to this problem at hand. The solutions that do exist can be hard to implement completely. Treatment is not always accessible and finding and arresting all the dirty doctors can be like a long drawn out page of “Where’s Waldo?” The best way to combat such a crisis is to educate and promote the dangers and statistics. The statistics are real for a reason. It doesn’t mean one is guaranteed to be on one side of things or the other. We as addicts, alcoholics, and individuals in general are the ones that decide what side of things we want to be on. We control our own destiny. That’s the fact Jack and it really boils down to simply decide- do we pick life or death?
Make 2017 Your Year
The drug epidemic in South Florida and the whole nation is ever increasing but only if we as beings give it the power. Drugs and alcohol suck us addicts and alcoholics into a whirlwind of chaos that we typically haven’t the tools to escape. It gets pretty miserable and the consequences continually build up like a failing game of Tetris and eventually the game ends. Choose the right side of the statistics. If you or a loved one is struggling with chemical dependency and are ready for help, please call 1-877-978-3125 or visit www.coastaldetox.com. We are ready to give you any suggestions possible and set you or your loved one on a path that we can all be proud of.