Detox Centers in Cal-Nev-Ari, NV

The tiny town of Cal-Nev-Ari, located at the southernmost tip of Nevada, gets its name from the states that surround it.¹ Located in Nevada’s Clark County, about an hour from Las Vegas, Cal-Nev-Ari is close to the bordering states of California and Arizona.

Cal-Nev-Ari is a relatively young town founded in the mid-1960s by Nancy and Everett “Slim” Kidwell.¹ Cal-Nev-Ari, at around 600 acres, includes an airstrip, motel, RV park, mobile home park, convenience store, restaurant, and casino.¹ In 2021, Universal Green Technology, owner of the organic mining company Heart of Nature, bought the little outpost for $8 million.¹

Although this pint-size town only has 144 residents as of 2020, about 70% of those aged 65 or older, its residents aren’t immune to drug and alcohol addiction.² In 2018, there were 10.5 opioid overdose deaths per every 100,000 people in Clark County.³

Overdose deaths due to the highly addictive synthetic opioid fentanyl have risen in Clark County.⁴ Between January and May 2021, 92 people in the county died from a fentanyl overdose.⁴ That was a 39% increase over the same period in 2020 when 66 people died.⁴

The Southern Nevada Health District estimates that at least 412 Clark County residents died from a fentanyl overdose between 2018 and 2021.⁴ Fentanyl is a dangerous synthetic opioid 80–100 times more potent than morphine.⁵ Overdoses of fentanyl are usually unintentional because the drug is often used for lacing other drugs such as heroin.⁵

Binge drinking is also present in Cal-Nev-Ari. According to data from Health Southern Nevada, almost 10% of adults in the tiny town admitted to binge drinking in 2019.⁶ The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) defines binge drinking as having 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more drinks for women during 1 occasion.⁷ The number of binge drinkers in Cal-Nev-Ari is low compared to the rest of Clark County, where 16.5% of adults admit to binge drinking in the same period.⁶

For Cal-Nev-Ari residents who are struggling with addiction to drugs or alcohol, there is help available. The closest five treatment centers, located within 25 miles of Cal-Nev-Ari, are in Bullhead City, Arizona.⁸

Among these available treatment centers, there are:

• 2 detox treatment facilities.
• 4 outpatient centers.
• 2 residential facilities.

All 5 centers offer help for those with a dual diagnosis of substance abuse and mental health disorder.⁸

The state of Nevada had a total of 109 facilities treating 11,573 patients in 2020.⁹ The state lists 93 outpatient and 28 residential facilities in 2020.⁹ And in 2020, about 18.5%, or 2,142, of those receiving treatment for addiction were under the age of 18.⁹

Overcoming addiction can be more manageable when you have a support system to help you on your journey to recovery. Nevada has 71 support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). The AA Las Vegas Central Office provides information on AA groups meeting in Clark County. The River Cities Central Office has information on AA groups meeting in nearby Bullhead City, Arizona.

The Region 51 Southern Nevada Area of NA has information on groups meeting in southern Nevada, northwestern Arizona, and a small section of southeastern California.

Sources:

1. Las Vegas Review-Journal. (2021, August 19). Tiny Nevada desert town sells for $8M.
2. U.S. Census Bureau. (n.a) Cal-Nev-Ari, Nevada geography profile.
3. Southern Nevada Health District. (2018) The Nevada opioid dashboard.
4. Southern Nevada Health District. (2021, August 17). Fentanyl deaths increase in Clark County.
5. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (n.a.). Fentanyl.
6. Healthy Southern Nevada. (2019). Adults who binge drink.
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, December 30). Binge drinking.
8. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (n.a) FindTreatment.gov.
9. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2020) National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS): Data on substance abuse treatment facilities