Toronto Drug Addiction and Treatment
Drug Treatments in Toronto, Ontario
If yourself, a friend or a family member suffers from substance addiction, it is crucial that you do something about it by contacting us. We will gladly discuss the situation over and go over the various options available.
There are several types of treatments provided by the city of Toronto for those struggling with 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 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, which is an outpatient treatment. Fundamentally they are sessions that the addicts attend to help them deal with their addiction while still living in their own home. These can be found in numbers within Toronto.
Then there are residential treatments, which are facilities that provide treatments to addicts outside of their home. 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). This option can be a necessity for individuals living in Toronto; it is often needed to leave one's environment in order to begin a drug free life, especially when living in a big city such as Toronto.
There are about 54 major Toronto Drug treatment organization alone and about 74 different facilities of various 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 organizations and 5 facilities
- Residential Withdrawal Management – 6 organizations and 7 facilities
Alcohol detox and rehab treatment in Toronto are also available; call Ontario Addiction Helpline and we will discuss with you the best options if you are in need of a Toronto Drug Detox and Rehab center.
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 used by younger people in Toronto. Actually, in 2003, there was a survey done and 23 percent of students admitted to using marijuana within the past year. There was also a survey done about street youth of Toronto and 84 percent said they used cannabis on a monthly basis. Toronto street youth have also been known for using marijuana. In 1999, 31 percent said that they used marijuana on a daily basis and 18 percent said that they used the drug weekly.
Cocaine is a hard drug that is seen a lot all around Toronto. From the survey in 2003, it was found that 3 percent of adults had used cocaine during the previous 12 months. It was also found that students also used cocaine (4 percent). There was also 13 percent of Toronto street youth who said they were addicted to cocaine and used it regularly. Crack cocaine is being used by 2 percent of students in Toronto and by 11 percent of 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 as often by adults in Toronto (less than 1 percent). And there was also 1 percent of students who admitted to using heroin at least once during the preceding year. In 1999, there was a survey done that showed that 11 percent of street youth in Toronto were somewhat addicted to heroin. But nowadays it is not a significant threat in Toronto. Toronto mostly contains white heroin, which is usually from Asia.
Methamphetamine is a very addictive drug and some people get hooked on it even after just the first use. There were 3 percent of Toronto students who said they had used meth during the preceding year. And there were 1 percent who admitted to using iced meth. In 2004, 37 percent of 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 harming themselves mentally and physically.
LSD and PCP are both very dangerous drugs but their popularity as decreased over the years. There were 2 percent of students that used LSD during the past year and 1 percent that used PCP. LSD is very popular with street youth. There were 23 percent who said they had used it. Of those, there were 2 percent who used it daily, 4 percent weekly and 7 percent monthly. LSD is an excessively strong drug and is dangerous for anyone who uses it.
Ecstasy and GHB are mostly seen in clubs and at the party scenes in Toronto. For example, less than 1 percent of the adults said they had used ecstasy within the past 12 months but there was only 3 percent when it came to students. And there was 1 percent of students in Toronto who said they had used GHB.
Drug statistics in Toronto
The Center for Addiction and Mental Health compiled data related to drug problems. In 2010, surveys amongst Toronto youth were the following :
- Alcohol – 58 percent
- Marijuana use inquiries – 25 percent
- Crack cocaine use inquiries – 14 percent
- Painkillers – 18 percent
- Cigarettes – 11 percent
- Cough/Cold medication – 7 percent
- Hallucinogens – 6 percent
- Solvents – 5 percent
- Ecstasy use inquiries – 3 percent
- Cocaine – 3 percent
- Methamphetamine use inquiries – 2 percent
- Heroin use inquiries – 1 percent
- GHB use inquiries – 1 percent
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 percent
- Cocaine – 12 percent
- Crack Cocaine – 30 percent
- Heroin – 2 percent
- Hallucinogens (LSD, PCP, etc.) – 6 percent
- Methamphetamine – 0.5 percent
- Ecstasy – 3 percent
- GHB – 3 percent
Resources
http://www.toronto.ca/health/rgdu/pdf/drug_use_in_toronto_2004.pdf
http://www.dart.on.ca/