Toronto Drug Addiction and Treatment

Drug Addiction in Toronto

In Toronto, because of its size and its metropolitan area, one can find just about any drug and so people struggle with all kinds of drug addiction. The following is to depict the impact of the different drugs in Toronto.

Marijuana is mostly seen within the younger people in Toronto. Actually, in 2003, there was a survey done and 23 per cent of the students admitted to using marijuana within the past year. There was also a survey done on the street youth of Toronto and 84 per cent said they used cannabis on a monthly basis. Toronto street youth has also been known for using marijuana. In 1999, 31 per cent said that they used marijuana on a daily basis and 18 per cent said that they used the drug weekly.

Cocaine is a hard drug that is seen a lot all around the city. With the survey of 2003, it was found that 3 per cent of the adults had used cocaine during the previous 12 months. And it was also found that students also use cocaine (4 per cent). There were also 13 per cent of the Toronto street youth that said they were addicted to cocaine and used it regularly. Crack cocaine is being used by 2 per cent of the students in Toronto and by 11 per cent of the street youth. There is also another problem noted with crack cocaine, and it is the risk of getting an HIV infection and Hepatitis.

Heroin is not seen as much as it once was. It is not used much by the adults in Toronto (less than 1 per cent). And there was also 1 per cent of student who admitted to using heroin at least once during the preceding year. In 1999, there was a survey done and it showed that 11 per cent of the street youth in Toronto were somewhat addicted to heroin. But nowadays it is not a significant threat in Toronto. White heroin is mostly what is seen in Toronto, usually from Asia.

Methamphetamine is a very addictive drug, some people get hooked on it even after just the first use. There were 3 per cent of the Toronto students who said they had used meth the preceding year. And there were 1 per cent who admitted to using iced meth. In 2004, 37 per cent of the street youth said they were using methamphetamine at least once every month. Because of its addictive nature, they run serious risks of becoming addicted and so harming themselves mentally and physically.

LSD and PCP are both very dangerous drugs but they are not really that popular nowadays. There were 2 per cent of the students that used LSD during the past year and 1 per cent that used PCP. LSD is very popular with the street youth. There were 23 per cent who said they had used it. And within those, there were 2 per cent who used it daily, 4 per cent weekly and 7 per cent monthly. LSD is an excessively strong drug and so is dangerous for anyone who uses it.

Ecstasy and GHB are mostly seen in the clubs and within the party scene of Toronto. For example, less than 1 per cent of the adults said they had used ecstasy within the past 12 months but there were 3 per cent when it came to students. And there were 1 per cent of the students in Toronto who said they had used GHB.

Drug seizures in Toronto

The following quantities of drugs were seized in Toronto in 2003.

• 3,149 kilograms of marijuana
• 33 kilograms of cocaine
• 5000 grams of heroin
• 16 kilograms of ecstasy
• 1,6 kilograms of GHB

And the following are the percentages that show how much the drugs account for in terms of all the drug seizures in Toronto.

• Marijuana – 43 per cent
• Cocaine – 12 per cent
• Crack Cocaine – 30 per cent
• Heroin – 2 per cent
• Hallucinogens (LSD, PCP, etc.) – 6 per cent
• Methamphetamine – 0.5 per cent
• Ecstasy – 3 per cent
• GHB – 3 per cent

Drug Treatments in Toronto, Ontario

The treatments in Toronto receive a lot of inquiries concerning people and their drug problems. And in 2003, they compiled those inquiries and found some interesting things. They saw that the following drugs were inquired:

• Cocaine use inquiries – 19 per cent
• Crack cocaine use inquiries – 14 per cent
• Marijuana use inquiries – 10 per cent
• LSD use inquiries – 6 per cent
• Ecstasy use inquiries – 3 per cent
• GHB use inquiries – 3 per cent
• Heroin use inquiries – 2 per cent
• Methamphetamine use inquiries – 2 per cent

Although there are a lot of people who suffer with drug addiction, there are a lot of people who want to help them. There are several types of treatments that the city of Toronto provides for those struggling with an addiction. Here is a little description of each service that one can find in Toronto.

First, there is an assessment and treatment planning. This is basically where they meet the addict and so establish what treatment plan is better for that particular person. This planning is based on what the addiction is, how long it’s been going on and what the person actually wants and needs. Then there is the community day/evening treatment, this is an outpatient treatment. Basically there are sessions that the addicts attend to help them deal with their addiction but they still live in their own home.

Then there are residential treatments, they are facilities which provide treatments to addicts while they stay in that environment. And there are some organizations who manage the withdrawal symptoms of the addicts. They can either be residential or outpatient and will treat certain people depending on the intensity of their symptoms (level 1, 2, and 3).

There are about 54 major organizations in Toronto alone and about 74 different facilities of different types. Those include:

• Assessment and treatment planning – 22 organizations and 33 facilities
• Community day and evening treatment – 14 organizations and 19 facilities
• Residential treatments – 8 organizations and 10 facilities
• Community Withdrawal Management (Outpatient) – 4 organisations and 5 facilities
• Residential Withdrawal Management – 6 organisations and 7 facilities

These facilities also alcohol addiction. We also have listings for alcohol treatment facilities in Ontario.

^{Resources
http://www.toronto.ca/health/rgdu/pdf/drug_use_in_toronto_2004.pdf
http://www.dart.on.ca/}