North East Drug Rehab Sees Rising Numbers of Adults Ages 45-65 Admitted For Addiction Treatment.

America’s “Baby Boomer” generation (those born between 1946 and 1964) have the highest increase of substance abuse rates year over year among any demographic. Many of these adults who are also part of the Woodstock generation have been using or abusing drugs since their teenage years and have carried this behavior with them into what should be the best years of their lives. Most of these cases are white, middle-aged adults who are well-to-do, not the stereo-typical image of troubled teens from inner cities.

In 2002, only 1.9 percent of those adults surveyed said that they had used substances such as marijuana, cocaine or hallucinogens in the previous month. That percentage doubled, rising to 4.1 percent in 2007. Another study shows that among adults in their forties and fifties, deaths from illicit drug overdose have increased over 800 percent since 1980.

Recently, there has been more media attention to addiction in general. Celebrities such as Michael Jackson who recently died at age 50 of prescription drug addiction, Burt Reynolds, 73 years old, has just finished a stay in a drug rehabilitation facility for painkiller addiction as well as others. The number of adults ages 40 – 60 using or addicted to drugs or alcohol is likely higher than has been reported, as many cases probably go un-diagnosed.

The face of drug addiction is changing and becoming more difficult to spot. People seldom think that their grandparents may have a drug problem. In several cases these older adults have been hiding this behavior for so long that they function and appear normal to those around them. These factors make identifying these cases extremely difficult. The fact is that almost every other baby boomer has experimented with some type of illicit drug in their lifetime. In President Barack Obama’s memoir “Dreams From My Father” he admits to having experimented with certain hard drugs in his youth.  The point being is that alcohol and drugs do not distinguish between age, race, financial status or any other factor; addiction is an equal opportunity disease which if left untreated can kill.

For more information on addiction and its effects on people and their families, please visit our website at http://www.mountainside.org

Mountainside Drug Rehab and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Center has been helping people recover from substance abuse for over 12 years.

Its licensed and credentialed counselors and clinical staff includes two Advanced Nurse Practitioners who are specialists in drug addiction and alcoholism treatment. The highly capable drug addiction treatment team is dedicated to providing compassionate and quality alcohol and drug treatment. In these hard economic times - Mountainside Drug Rehab is there to help. Please contact us at the number below or visit its website at (www.mountainside.org/drug-rehab).

If you or someone you love is in need of treatment please contact us at: 800-762-5433