We all know someone who knows a guy who’s died from a drug overdose or at least that’s true for various areas of the United States. Drug use in the United States has been on the rise for a few years. According to Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services Office of Planning, Research, Evaluation and Prevention there has been a visible rise in drug users in a specific area called Cape May Court House.So today we’re discussing the relationship between rising in the unemployment rate in various areas and the rise in substance abuse.

In specifically Cape May Court House we can see an active change in the employment rate through the years. When comparing Cape May Court House to the National Average unemployment rate the area is over the average ranging from 5.5% to 15.6% at the highest during February in 2016 with the NJ average being 4.2% to 5.5% then nationals being 4.6% to 5.0%. Unfortunately because of the way the area is set up its economy is based on seasons and this leads to unemployment being an all-time high during the fall and winter months in various parts of NJ. This can lead to a higher amount of drug use during these times. When we look at the statistics for drug use in Cape May County compared between 2015-2016 we can see that in 2015 there were 2,239 people who were admitted for substance abuse treatment out of a small total population of 94,72. In 2016 this trend continued with 2,127 people seeking treatment.This is a huge amount of people that we actually know are using substances.What about the people who never go to seek treatment or die before they can? If we look at first time client for the two times there are 605 new clients in 2015 and in 2016 546. Looking at who’s being admitted in New Jersey overall we can see a pattern in people starting young with 18-24 and 25-59 being the two top age brackets with 12,605 for 18-24 and 5,3237 ages 25-59.In 2016 we see the same pattern with 13,321 for ages 18-24 and 59,198 for ages 25-59. New Jersey is suffering as a while but why is no one taking action or even really talking about it? These people are still a part of our population and we should care for them. Instead, the problem only seems to grown and we spend more to try and still fail. Cape May Court House and other areas like it in New Jersey are at risk for higher substance abuse because of the flux of people during the summer months. Instead of addressing these issues we continue to welcome tourists because that's the only way we can continue to survive the winter months. If you can't scrape enough together then and your job relies on some sort of food industry, as most of the population's dose, then your next eight to nine months are hellish.

We won't talk about these things because they are painful for everyone involved but if we can't voice our concerns before bodies drop then are we really doing enough? Is the environment to blame for the way people live their life? Can small island towns change or are we perpetually stuck in this cycle of abuse? If you know somone whos been through drug abuse today just reach out to them any way you can and be gald they survived.