Most people think of the California lifestyle as sun, sand, and surf, with a huge dollop of Hollywood. Under the sunny surface, however, lies one of the worst drug problems in the United States, with the highest death rate from drug abuse in the country. Club drugs, meth, cocaine, heroin, and every sort of prescription drug are all abused in California as well as smuggled in across the border from Mexico. Despite some of the harshest drug laws in the nation, the problem is still escalating.

Nevertheless, alcoholics and drug addicts have grounds for much hope in getting help for substance abuse in California. Drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers abound, and despite the revolving door image evoked by the constant parade of celebrities trooping in and out of “rehab,” studies prove that even long-term, hardened drug abusers can get clean and stay clean. Never think that it is too late to seek help for a drug or alcohol problem.

Choosing from among the hundreds of rehab centers in California may look at first like a bewildering process, but there are ways to sort out the good from the bad. Make sure that any drug treatment facility or alcohol recovery center is focused on the long term, and offers a well-rounded program tailored to the individual and the type of drug being abused. Lack of experience in treating the special problems of drugs like meth or Xanax can be deadly. Levels of abuse require different levels of care. Do not rule out inpatient or residential care, even if it means sending your loved one outside your local area for treatment. A
rehab in California may be your first choice, but it should not be your only choice.

At the least, any rehabilitation program or treatment center should offer detoxification, counseling, and behavioral modification, the three key elements to recovery. A rehab center equipped for long-term inpatient care is best able to provide continuity of services, from managing the difficult withdrawal phase, to teaching nutrition and fitness to rehabilitate the body as well as the mind. In between, a residential facility offers a safe, quiet, supportive environment where the addict can begin the process of self-transformation, free from the stress and distractions outside the walls.

Many families are unaware that they have unwittingly enabled an addict’s abuse by trying to work around the problem without addressing it. A good drug or alcohol recovery facility, in California or anywhere else, takes the addict outside the enabling environment while teaching him to live without the crutch of drugs or alcohol. Counseling and behavior modification are crucial to a permanent lifestyle transformation, which cannot happen overnight. It takes professional help to break the emotional dependency on drugs, often in an environment where the addict has time and peace to think about why she allowed herself to become addicted, and to face up to the devastation wrought by the abuse.

The California lifestyle doesn’t have to involve substance abuse. Let a rehab center put you back into the sunshine.