Warren Treatment Centers

Warren, Michigan, is home to approximately 138,247 people. It is found in Macom County and is around 10 miles outside of Detroit and 7 miles outside of Sterling Heights. During the 1990s, the population of Warren actually declined, which is quite unique. Today, the population continues to decline, although not as rapidly (under 1% per year). There is a significant problem with drug and alcohol abuse in Warren, which is reflected in its levels of violent crimes, which are higher than the state average. There is a positive correlation and causality between violent crime levels and substance abuse.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse in Warren, MI

In order to understand how to improve the current situation with substance abuse in Warren, public officials have looked at the actual situation. First of all, they wanted to determine which substances posed the greatest threat to know where they should focus on. What they found was that:

• The most abused substances are cannabis, prescription painkillers, and cocaine, in that particular order.
• There has not been a change in the number of people who have a cannabis dependency. However, there has been a marked increase in the number of people who abuse prescription painkillers. Meanwhile, the number of cocaine dependents has dropped.

Warren also has a specific concern about alcohol abuse. One study revealed that:

• 12% of people over the age of 12 had driven while under the influence of alcohol during the past 12 months.
• While 12% is high, it is actually a significant reduction from 14.2%, which was the rate in 2002. This would suggest that some of the intervention efforts that the city authorities have put in place are being effective.

Warren officials have also put various methods and measures in place to ensure that the community as a whole comes together to fight substance abuse. Particularly, they are encouraging parents to communicate with their teenage children about the dangers of drug and alcohol use. This came after research showed that just 6.5% of young people aged between 12 and 17 smoked it their parents strongly disapproved, compared to 40.5% of young people where parents do not express disapproval. Similar statistics have been shown on cannabis abuse (4.8% versus 31.3%).

Besides working with parents and young people to avoid future substance abuse, the authorities are also involved in creating intervention systems for those who have already developed a dependency or addiction. One such effort is the 37th District Court of Michigan's Treatment Court. Here, people who have committed nonviolent offenses and have a substance abuse problem are given the opportunity to seek detox and rehab. If the treatment is successful they are able to avoid a prison sentence.

Last but not least, the authorities and their partners have invested heavily in making sure detox and rehab treatment, including residential (inpatient) and outpatient facilities, are available and accessible to people. This means that there are now more state-sponsored facilities to remove financial barriers, and they have also signposted to these types of facilities. In so doing, the city hopes to improve the undesirable statistic that only a small percentage of people who need help actually receive it.