Macon Treatment Centers

Macon, Georgia, is home to approximately 97,255 individuals. It is found in Bibb County, and it is around 79 miles outside of Athens and 76 miles outside of Atlanta. Uniquely, during the 1990s, the population of Macon actually declined by around 9%. Today, the population continues to decrease, although at a very slow rate. Meanwhile, the city has a drug and alcohol problem. This is reflected in the levels of property crimes and violent crimes, which are higher than the state average. There has been a positive correlation between these types of crimes and substance abuse.

Statistics on Substance Abuse in Macon, GA

To ensure that the current problem does not escalate, public health officials in Macon have conducted a number of studies to determine the extent of the issue with dependency and addiction that Macon is facing. They have found that:

• 1.8% of the population abuse or are dependent on cannabis. This rate has been unchanged since the last count.
• 0.4% of the population have a cocaine addiction or dependency, which is a significant drop since the last count.
• Around 1% of the population currently uses prescription drugs in a non-medical way. This rate has also been virtually unchanged.
• Around 0.5% of the population has a heroin addiction, which represents a big increase since the last count.

Macon authorities understand that addiction is a disease, and that detox and rehab treatment must be made available. However, they found that, out of those who needed treatment:

• Only 7.7% readily admitted that they needed help. The other 92.3% still required an intervention.
• 39.2% of those needing treatment tried to find a place in detox and rehab.
• 60.8% did not make any effort to find treatment.

What the above statistics have shown is twofold:

1. More intervention methods have to be put into place so that those who need treatment become aware of the fact that their life is spiraling out of control.
2. Treatment has to be much more readily available, easy to find, and easy to access.

The Drug Court Program in Bibb County, GA

One way to encourage more people to get into detox and rehab treatment is through the Bibb County Drug Court Program. This program has proven to be so successful in terms of helping people regain control of their lives and positively contribute to the community as a whole, that the state has adopted it as a model of best practice. These courts give drug offenders, so long as they have not committed a violent offense, the opportunity to go through detox and rehab instead of having to go to prison. Coupled with the threat of the "two strikes you're out" rule that exists in Georgia, which means that people will receive a life sentence without the possibility for parole for violent offenses, these methods have acted as a significant deterrent as well.

Furthermore, Macon authorities want to prevent people from falling into the trap of substance abuse in the first place. For those who cannot reach on time, they want to put intervention efforts in place so that they consider getting help. And, finally, they want to make sure that detox and rehab treatment is available as well.