Cary Treatment Centers

Cary, North Carolina, is home to around 94,536 people. It is found in Wake County and it is around 15.5 miles from Durham and 8 miles from Raleigh. During the 90s, there was a massive population boom, which was one of the biggest in the country, in fact, as the population grew by 116%. Cary's population continues to grow quite rapidly at the rate of 1.7% per year. Meanwhile, although Cary, like other parts of the country, has significant issues with substance abuse and addiction, it seems to have a degree of control over it. This is seen in the fact that its levels of violent and property crimes, which are positively correlated to substance abuse levels, are lower than in the rest of the state.

Statistics on Substance Abuse in Cary, NC

Public health officials in Cary have conducted a large piece of research to determine the extent of the substance abuse problem in the city. In so doing, they have been able to put prevention, early intervention, and treatment options in place that are relevant to the needs of the community. Looking specifically at cannabis use, research showed that:

• 2.3% of those aged between 12 and 17 disapprove of cannabis use in young people.
• 27.1% of young people neither approve nor disapprove of their peers using cannabis.

What this suggests is that cannabis use is widely accepted among young people aged between 12 and 17, and Cary has put various outreach, educational, and intervention efforts in place to help teens understand the dangers of cannabis, and that it is a gateway drug to other substances.

The city also looked at the levels of alcohol abuse among young people. What they found was that:

• 81.5% of young people aged between 12 and 20 were in a group of at least three people when they consumed alcohol last.
• 13.4% of young people were in the company of one other person when they consumed alcohol last.
• 5.2% of young people were alone when they last drank alcohol.
• 54.8% of those aged over the age of 12 in Cary had consumed alcohol in the past month.

These statistics were considered to be of great concern by public health officials in Cary. There is a significant worry about young people drinking alone, but equally about young people drinking in groups, as this often leads to binge drinking. Various efforts have been put in place to minimize this problem.

In terms of illicit substances, including non-medical use of prescription medication, Cary is facing a rising problem. To combat this issue, Cary is part of the North Carolina Drug Court system, where people are court ordered to go through detox and rehab in order to avoid a prison sentence. Additionally, more resources have been made available to make detox and rehab treatment facilities more accessible to people across the board. These include opening more state-sponsored facilities, so that the financial barrier to accessing treatment is removed. In so doing, Cary aims to continue to be one of the cities in North Carolina where substance abuse levels are relatively low.