Minnesota typifies the heartland of the United States: wide open, warm-hearted, generous to a fault. But those wide-open spaces are the playground of Mexican drug cartels peddling everything from cocaine to prescription drugs, and Minnesota has a drug problem just like every other state in the Union.

Drug and alcohol rehabilitation and treatment centers in Minnesota can be found in most large communities, and offer a wide range of services. It is always better to seek help for a substance abuse problem sooner rather than later, but in Minnesota the stakes are upped by the fact that its drug laws focus on incarceration rather than treatment even for minor drug offenders. If you suspect a drug or alcohol problem in your family, seek treatment immediately, before the problem is compounded by more than the actual addiction.

Evaluate any drug or alcohol program carefully to determine if it can address your particular problem. The newer class of prescription drugs is not only highly addictive, but affects people in different ways, and a shotgun approach to drug rehabilitation is not able to address those individual side effects and complications. Minnesota drug and alcohol rehab centers offer a broad spectrum of programs, ranging from drug abuse detection and detoxification to inpatient care and outpatient counseling. Choosing the right program can be an intimidating process.

Be wary of programs that are too narrowly focused. A detox center may not offer counseling; a mental health clinic may not be equipped to deal with the physical component of addiction. Managing withdrawal symptoms is only a small part of the entire recovery process. Look for a rehabilitation center that takes a comprehensive approach and is equipped and staffed to handle the recovery process from end to end. Continuity of care is very important.

You will very likely start your search for treatment in your local community. A drug and alcohol treatment center in Minnesota is preferred by most families, but it is not always possible to find a comprehensive program in your area, nor is it always a good idea to keep an addict close to home. The severity of some addictions makes recovery a long and tricky process. Not only does the person require close medical supervision to mend the damage done to his body by drugs or alcohol; the long-term counseling component is often best done where the patient cannot run away from it. Also, outpatient treatment is full of daily temptation for the recovering addict, not to mention the daily stress of dealing with problems at work or at home. Since, often, those daily stressors are what contributed to the addiction in the first place, getting an addict clear away to a place where he or she can focus on recovery is essential.

Make sure that any drug or alcohol rehabilitation center, in Minnesota or outside the state, has a whole-body approach to the problem. Detox, counseling, long-term behavior modification, and wellness are elements of any holistic approach. “Clean for life” should be your goal. Choose your program accordingly.