Drug Abuse and Drug Rehab in Fort Collins, Colorado

Sitting at the base of the Rocky Mountains, and just 60 miles north of Denver, Fort Collins has much to offer families and individuals alike. Scenics, winter sports, Colorado State University and a quaint Old Town Square are among its appeals.

Fort Collins is situated right off Interstate 25 which travels north-south between Wyoming and Denver. To the west are long stretches of the Rocky Mountains, including the Rocky Mountain National Park and the Roosevelt National Forest. But those who are burdened with alcoholism or drug addiction don’t have the freedom to fully enjoy these beauties. A quick investigation reveals that the residents of Fort Collins struggle with serious problems of drug abuse.

Drug Rehabilitation Facilities in the Region

Any time a situation of elevated levels of drug abuse exists, some individuals will fall prey to addiction. A city must have access to drug rehab that helps its citizens recover from addiction and resume their contributions to the health and wellness of the community, as well as their families and friends.

Within Fort Collins itself, there are eight drug rehab facilities that are ready to help. One more facility exists far into the Rockies and a few centers are located in Loveland.

When a loved one is addicted, the family must make rapid choices about what type of drug rehab to choose. Failing to act rapidly, in this day of fentanyl, could result in the loss of the loved one’s life.

Some families will choose an outpatient rehab. This may be necessary if a person must hold a job, care for children or take care of other responsibilities part-time. With outpatient rehab, a person has a strict schedule for their rehab services and they work or spend time at home the rest of the week.

Many people have found that inpatient drug rehab provides the around-the-clock support they need. Getting sober after being addicted is daunting and some people will want to give up the attempt, especially early in their stay at a rehab. Having support and supervision always at hand is instrumental in their success.

From Medical Detox to Community Support Meetings

A person addicted to a drug like Valium, Xanax or one of the other benzodiazepines or a person who has heavily and constantly consumed alcohol often needs a medical detox before starting rehab. Fevers, seizures and delirium can occur while a person is in withdrawal from these drugs. Medication and constant medical supervision are needed to get a person through this critical phase. But a medical detox is not drug rehab. It only supports the person as the drugs leave their system. They must go on to receive counseling and life skills training to enable them to make sober choices in the future.

This city of 166,000 residents also has more than a dozen support meetings for those addicted to alcohol, and more than 20 meetings specially dedicated to those addicted to drugs.

Drug-Involved Causes of Death in Larimer County

According to the Larimer County Medical Examiner’s report from 2020, both drugs and alcohol are heavily involved in both suicide and accidental deaths. The office’s breakdown of drug or alcohol-related suicides shows that 72% of suicide or accidental deaths occurred in the presence of alcohol or drugs. Involved were high dosages of alcohol, THC from marijuana, methamphetamine, opioids, benzodiazepines, and other drugs.¹

Out of 33 fatal traffic accidents, 52% involved the use of alcohol or drugs by the driver. And of 104 accidental deaths, 49 of them were drug overdoses. However, drugs or alcohol were found in the bodies of 64 of these people dying in accidents meaning that drugs possibly contributed to 15 additional deaths through some other means than an overdose. Falls, burns or drownings are common ways intoxicated people suffer accidental deaths.¹

Drug overdose deaths resulted from prescription opioids, a mixture of prescription drugs, heroin and fentanyl in roughly equal measure.

Thus it is easy to see that eliminating drug abuse with effective drug rehab would save many lives in Fort Collins and Larimer County.

Drug Pathways Through Colorado

Whenever there are good transportation and industrial resources in an area, there is an ample—or more than ample—supply of drugs. Drug dealers need interstates to get their products from one state to another. Warehouses and trucking companies permit the covert movement of drugs. Anyone curious enough to sample these wares can easily find themselves in trouble.

For some people, it only takes one sample to be caught in the clutches of addiction. The nagging cravings send them back to the drug dealer again and again. There are three possible paths ahead of them—sobriety, jail or death.

What kinds of drugs are being trafficked in Fort Collins? All kinds. The many legal and illegal marijuana growing operations mean that there is enough pot for any Coloradan who wants to indulge and many pounds ready to transport to other states.

Heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and prescription drugs flow up and down the interstates and through the cities. In recent months, arrests have been made in Fort Collins for possession of seven pounds of cocaine, thousands of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and a thousand black-market Xanax pills.^2,3,4 In the most astonishing drug seizure of all, 200,000 pills containing fentanyl plus more than nine pounds of heroin and a pound of cocaine were taken off the streets in May of 2022.⁵

In addition, illegal marijuana grow operations are shut down, like the four sites resulting in the destruction of more than 400 plants, 24 pounds of finished marijuana and 80 ounces of powerful THC concentrate.⁶

Saving Loved Ones from Drug-Dealing Predators

Once a person loses control of their “experimentation” or “recreation” with drugs and they become addicted, they need help fast. The best thing a family can do is help that person arrive at the door of an effective drug rehabilitation program at the earliest moment possible.

If the loved one is so trapped in addiction that they can’t make the decision to choose sobriety on their own, a professional intervention can turn the tide toward recovery.

It is possible to have that person back, sober and healthy, once again, by making the choice to get them into a good drug rehab facility.

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