I don’t understand why the Florida budget for drug rehab is being cut by $36 million. Florida is the prescription drug addiction, dependency and abuse capital of the U.S. Drug addicts travel to the “pill state“ from all over the U.S. to buy prescription drugs. Of course, there are also the addicts who already live here – both those who have a problem with prescription drugs and those who use street drugs like heroin and cocaine. And then there’s the elderly who have become addicted to their meds such as OxyContin, Xanax or Valium. How are these people going to get drug rehab when the budget is being cut?

Prescription drug use is also exploding in the high schools and middle schools and as those people continue to take them the situation will get even worse. As will the demand for Florida drug rehab and drug detox.

The DEA calls Tampa ground zero for Internet marketing of prescription drugs – which also says something about the drug-related crime in the state. It is estimated that 67% of the inmate population is there for drug-related crimes. Getting them through a drug rehab program not only cuts down on the crime, unlike sending them to prison – cause they’re just going to go out there and do it again - it’s even cheaper.
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Two groups who might like the idea of sending drug offenders to jail are Corrections Corp of America and GEO group, which run some of the Florida prisons for the state. The more full prison beds they have, the higher their profits.

But what other entities could possibly benefit from a budget cut is beyond me.

Florida doesn’t need fewer drug detox and drug rehab facilities – its needs more. The Governor and other political figures should really take a look at this situation and solve the drug problem with a good Florida drug rehab program instead of more prison beds.

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