Detox Centers in Pinellas Park, FL

Pinellas Park, Florida experiences problems with drug and alcohol misuse like many other U.S. cities and is being especially hit hard by the ongoing nationwide opioid crisis.

Pinellas Park is located in west central Florida in Pinellas County about 18 miles west of Tampa. The rate of drug overdose deaths in this region has skyrocketed in recent years mainly on behalf of synthetic opioids like fentanyl, along with stimulants, animal tranquilizers, and MDMA.¹ According to the Pinellas County forensic laboratory director, these substances are commonly combined with other drugs in powder or pill form.¹ A total of 411 people died from drug overdoses in Pinellas County during the first eight months of 2021, while the death toll during the same period in 2020 was 363.¹

According to the Pinellas County Opioid Task Force, an opioid-related overdose kills one resident in this Florida county every 26 hours.² It adds that between October 2019 and September 2020, first responders in Pinellas County took more than 6,500 people in suspected overdose cases to local hospital emergency rooms, which was about 1,500 more cases made during the same period the previous year.²

Though opioid misuse remains a serious public health concern in Pinellas Park and Pinellas County, alcohol misuse is also problematic. In 2016, nearly 21% of adults in Pinellas County reported they were heavy drinkers or binge drinkers, compared with 17.5% of adults in Florida who reported having the same drinking behaviors.³ That same year, alcohol was involved in 961 motor vehicle crashes in Pinellas County.³

Residents who live in Pinellas Park and suffer from drug or alcohol use disorders have access to 24 addiction treatment facilities in the city and within a 10-mile radius.⁴ This makes up roughly 2.2% of the number of addiction treatment centers in Florida.5 Of the 24 facilities in Pinellas Park, four are detox centers where people can go to recover from physical dependence on drugs and alcohol.⁴

There is one dedicated opioid treatment program in Pinellas Park located on 49th Street North that specializes in treatments for opioid use disorder.⁶ Additionally, there are 80 practitioners in Pinellas Park who are licensed to prescribe buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder.⁵ Buprenorphine is a medication that can reduce symptoms of opioid withdrawal, including drug cravings.⁷

Peer support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) can be extremely helpful for those with alcohol and drug use disorders who need extra encouragement and support throughout recovery.⁸ Self-help groups such as AA and NA are shown to help individuals stay engaged in treatment and are usually an ideal complement to formal drug and alcohol treatment programs.⁸

The Pinellas County Intergroup features a full list of AA meetings on its website.⁹ AA meetings in Pinellas Park take place seven days a week at various times of the day to accommodate the schedules of local residents in recovery from alcohol addiction.⁹

Pinellas Park residents who want to attend NA meetings for narcotics and opioid misuse have access to 94 meetings located in the city and within a 10-mile radius.¹⁰ A full list of Pinellas Park NA meetings is available on the official NA website.¹⁰

Sources:

1. Peace, L. (2021, December 30). Pinellas County drug overdoses likely climbed in 2021.
2. Jones, K. (2021, August 24). An epidemic in a pandemic: Pinellas County sees increased number of overdoses.
3. Florida Health Pinellas County. (2019, March). Pinellas County Substance Abuse Profile 2019.
4. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Find Treatment.
5. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Find a Facility.
6. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Opioid Treatment Program Directory.
7. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2022, January 24). Buprenorphine.
8. National Institute on Drug Abuse. What about 12-step programs—Do they work?
9. Pinellas County Intergroup. Meetings.
10. Narcotics Anonymous. NA Meeting Search.