Detox Centers in Apollo Beach, Florida

Apollo Beach is a suburb of Tampa located in Hillsborough County. It’s home to a population of 20,947 people and is considered to be one of the best places to live in all of Florida.¹ Apollo Beach is not immune to the ongoing opioid epidemic that has taken over the nation. Substance use dependencies involving opioids as well as opioid overdose-related deaths have had a profound impact on Hillsborough County, affecting at least every 5 out of 10 people.²

Recent research has also uncovered the following regarding opioid use in the area:

• The area’s opioid overdose rate is currently at 23.3 people per 100,000—which is 9.75% higher than the rest of the state and 50.5% higher than the rest of the country.²
• Roughly 3 people die each day due to opioid-related overdoses, which totaled 1,024 deaths in 2019 and continue to increase.²
• It is estimated that the economic impact of the opioid epidemic has cost the Tampa Bay area, which includes Hillsborough County, roughly $25 billion in losses in gross regional product. It has also caused about 35,000 workers to be dropped from the labor force.²

What’s more, nearly three-quarters of the 254 opioid-related deaths reported in 2021 were said to be attributed to individuals having fentanyl in their system.³ It was also reported that 9% of those deaths involved heroin and 73% involved methamphetamine—all in conjunction with fentanyl.³

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid said to be up to 100 times more potent than morphine.⁴ While fentanyl is typically used for medical purposes, it’s also being illegally made in labs and sold on the streets as a powder, nasal spray, and even in pill form.⁴ What’s worse is that because it’s cheap, colorless (white), odorless, and tasteless, it’s often used to “cut” other substances to extend supplies while guaranteeing return customers, thanks to its highly addictive qualities.

The high potency of fentanyl is what makes it so dangerous. All it takes is as little as 2 milligrams to make a lethal dose, and 100 kilograms has the potential to cause up to 500,000 overdose-related deaths.⁴ Since the substance is often mixed with heroin, MDMA, methamphetamine, and cocaine, users may be ingesting fentanyl in lethal doses unknowingly, making today an incredibly dangerous time to have a substance use dependency.

If you or someone you care for is struggling with a substance use disorder, treatment is close by. There are approximately 42 treatment facilities within 25 miles of Apollo Beach.⁵ They can be broken down into the following categories and numbers:

• 36 treatment facilities offer outpatient programs.⁵
• 15 treatment facilities offer inpatient (residential) programs.⁵
• 30 treatment facilities offer co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder programs.⁵
• 29 treatment facilities offer virtual (telehealth) treatment programs.⁵

These numbers are in comparison with the rest of the state of Florida. As of 2020, the state has a total of 712 facilities, with 215 facilities offering inpatient care and 587 offering outpatient care.⁶

If you or someone you know is dealing with substance use dependency, you can find immediate support through Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) local chapter meetings. While these meetings are not a substitute for treatment, they can help you throughout your recovery by offering a foundation of support to help you through the hard times.

Meeting times and locations are subject to change. Use the following resources to stay up to date on the meeting schedules in the Tampa Bay and Hillsborough County area:

• The Tri-County Central Office of Tampa’s official page
• The Tampa Funcoast Area for NA meetings

Sources:

1. Niche. (n.d.). Apollo Beach, Florida.
2. Tampabay.org. (n.d.). Project Opioid Tampa Bay.
3. Baynews9.com. (2021, August 31). Report: opioid overdoses in Tampa Bay outpacing the rest of Florida.
4. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. DEA.gov. (n.d.). Facts about fentanyl.
5. FindTreatment.gov. (n.d.). Results.
6. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2021, June). National survey of substance abuse treatment services (N-SSATS): 2020. Data on substance abuse treatment facilities.