Nevada Alcohol and Drug Use Statistics
Substance use in Nevada is an issue that comes with significant health and societal consequences. In 2016 alone, substance overdoses accounted for 64,000 deaths, surpassing motor vehicle-related deaths by 60%.1 Overdose-related deaths have since risen, and the opioid epidemic that hit the nation in the 90s is largely to blame.
On a national level, opioid-related deaths increased from 6.1 for every 100,000 people in 1999 to 19.8 in 2016.1
In 2016, Nevada saw an average of 13.8 opioid-related deaths per 100,000 people, surpassing the national average.1
By 2020, overdoses were averaging at roughly 55.5 per 100,000 people and involving more substances than just opioids. 2
In 2018, roughly 0.5% of individuals reported using methamphetamine at least once.2
What’s more, substance use in Nevada often begins at the age of 12 or earlier, creating greater risk factors for long-term substance use and substance use disorders.2 According to a recent Nevada SAPTA EPI profile, large percentages of young teens and adults ranging from the ages of 12 through 17 have tried or recreationally used the following substances:2
5% use marijuana.
70% use cocaine at least once per month.
2% have five or more drinks several times per week.
9% smoke at least one pack of cigarettes per day.
Lastly, while methamphetamine use among this age group decreased by 64% between 2010 and 2018, roughly 0.5% of individuals reported using the substance at least once in 2018 alone.2
Cost of Drug Rehab in Nevada
The cost of rehab in Nevada will vary based on several factors. These factors include the type of facilities available and the type of program that suits your individual needs. The best way to estimate the future costs of rehab is to think about the following:
The type of treatment program you’ll need (inpatient vs. outpatient care)
The type of facility, as in luxury-style accommodations or basic amenities.
The duration of treatment (this could be anywhere from 30 to 90 days)
Your insurance policy or lack thereof
Choosing a rehab facility in-network with health insurance provider
Whether you’re eligible for special financing
The location of the facility
The last thing you should worry about is not being able to afford alcohol or drug rehab in Nevada. While there are significant costs associated with room and board, there are plenty of options out there to suit all income levels.
For instance, having insurance can help reduce the cost of rehab significantly. You just must make sure to choose an “in-network” facility. Of course, if you don’t have insurance coverage and don’t have the budget to pay upfront, you would need to look at state-funding programs as your next viable option. State-funded facilities will sometimes even offer free treatment for those who meet the requirements. They also usually offer special financing and scholarships based on individual cases.
Where Can I Find Low-Cost and Free Rehabs in Nevada?
Low-cost and free rehabs are what we consider to be “state-funded.” These facilities receive their funding from both the federal and state government. They also commonly receive support from local governments who get the funding from insurance programs like Medicaid, special grants, and so other programs.
Free and low-cost rehabs work just like any other type of rehab facility. This means they typically offer medically assisted detoxing, outpatient care if rooms aren’t available, transitional and recovery housing, peer support group meetings, mental health care, and even telehealth options.
To receive free or low-cost drug and alcohol rehab in Nevada, you’ll need to meet specific requirements. This would include the following:
- You must be a U.S. citizen.
- You must have proof of income level (or lack thereof).
- You must prove that you don’t have health insurance.
- You must be a tax-paying resident in the state of Nevada.
Does Insurance Cover Drug Rehab in Nevada?
Under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) of 2008, all states, including Nevada, require that healthcare providers automatically offer plans that include benefits for mental health and substance use disorders.3
So, if you have health insurance, you have some level of coverage for alcohol or drug rehab in Nevada.
Medicaid
Medicaid is both federally and state-funded and offers healthcare coverage to low-income families. When it comes to substance use treatment, Medicaid will primarily cover the basics, such as:
- Initial screenings
- Intervention assistance
- Inpatient and outpatient care
- Medically assisted detox
- Addiction treatment medications
- Mental health services
However, not all Nevada drug rehabs and alcohol rehabs accept Medicaid as a form of payment. Therefore, you’ll need to verify with each facility before making any treatment arrangements.
Medicare
Medicare is a federally funded health insurance program and is designed for seniors 65 and older. It also covers individuals with disabilities. Medicare also comes with monthly premiums based on income, so individuals with lower incomes pay lower premiums.
As for rehab coverage, Medicare is divided into four categories, Parts A through D. Each Part offers different treatment benefits. Part A, for example, provides coverage for up to 60 days of inpatient treatment, whereas Part B provides coverage for up to 80% of outpatient care and dual diagnosis cases.
Private Insurance
Private insurance plans under the MHPAEA must provide a certain level of coverage for substance use disorder treatment and mental health disorders. Some of the top insurance providers that offer coverage for rehab include Humana, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), COBRA, Aetna, United Healthcare, and Cigna.
The level of your treatment coverage will depend entirely on the insurance plan and provider you have. Therefore, you’ll need to verify what’s covered and what you’ll have to pay out of pocket with your insurance provider. You’ll also need to verify which facilities are considered in-network to ensure your coverage before making any treatment arrangements.
Popular Alcohol and Drug Rehab Centers in Nevada
With all the Nevada alcohol rehabs and drug rehabs, narrowing down your search to the right one can be challenging and frustrating. To get you started, we’ve made a short list of some of the most highly-rated rehab centers the state has to offer:
Vogue Recovery Center: Las Vegas
The Vogue Recovery Center in Las Vegas is a Joint Commission-accredited facility offering evidence-based and individualized treatment planning. Here individuals receive one-on-one counseling and case management, psychoeducation, group therapy, and neurocognitive treatment modalities.
The facility also has a five-to-one staff-to-client ratio, semi-private rooms with a focus on comfort, and 24-hour supervision and care. In terms of programs, this facility offers specialized programs such as rehab for men and rehab for women, dual diagnosis treatment, medically assisted detoxes, plus several forms of outpatient care.
Ridge House: Reno
Ridge House in Reno is a state-funded facility that offers substance use disorder treatment for adult Nevada residents. The facility is backed by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services and offers recovery programs and treatment services, including residential care, MAT, substance use evaluations, group and individual counseling, family counseling, and peer support groups.
WestCare Nevada: Multiple Locations
The WestCare Nevada facility has multiple locations throughout the state, including Las Vegas, Reno, Tonopah, and Pahrump. Each location offers a different specialized program, including veteran transitional living and treatment for pregnant women, to name a few.
The facility is CARF-accredited and utilizes evidence-based therapies to help individuals of all kinds recover from substance use disorders.
Desert Hope: Las Vegas
Desert Hope in Las Vegas is a Joint Commission-accredited facility that comes highly rated. The facility offers inpatient and outpatient programs, medically assisted detox programs, and several other levels of care.
The facility also utilizes evidence-based methods and therapies, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, family therapy, and even eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR).
Inpatient vs. Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Rehab in Nevada
There are two main types of treatment options: Inpatient and outpatient.
Inpatient rehab refers to long-term residential care, where you’ll be admitted to a facility where you’ll live while receiving treatment. These programs range from 30 to 90 days, depending on the severity of your substance use disorder and other needs. Since you’ll be living at the facility, you’ll be provided with a room and a bed (which may be private or semi-private), healthy meals, and other amenities, depending on the type of facility.
Outpatient rehabs refer to treatment programs that don’t require you to live on the grounds of the rehab facility. However, you’re required to show up for all scheduled treatment and therapy hours dictated by the healthcare team on your case. There are also three different types of outpatient programs:
Standard outpatient treatment
Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs)
Partial hospitalization programs (PHPs)
Each type of outpatient program will vary in its intensity regarding treatment hours. Moreover, they all typically require you to attend peer support group meetings outside of your regularly scheduled therapy.
Each type of rehab program has its own advantages and disadvantages. However, those advantages and disadvantages depend on the individual situation.
Advantages of Inpatient Addiction Treatment
Inpatient addiction treatment gives individuals with substance use disorders the opportunity to take a break from all the stress in their lives. This is one of its greatest advantages, as it allows you to focus solely on recovery and healing—nothing else.
Other advantages include the following:
- Living on-site with certain amenities and healthy meals
- Receiving round-the-clock care for all your needs
- A greater level of supervision to ensure everyone’s safety and well-being
- Support with basic functioning, such as taking medication, personal hygiene, and more for those who need it
- A more stable and comforting environment for those with co-occurring mental health disorders
Disadvantages of Inpatient Rehab
The disadvantages of inpatient care include the following:
- They tend to be more expensive and are only covered partially by insurance.
- They can last anywhere from 30 to 90 days, which means time away from work, school, family, or all three.
- It can make transitioning back to “normal” life a challenge.
- Families and friends don’t always understand how to offer support once individuals finish their inpatient care and return home.
Advantages of Outpatient Addiction Treatment
If you’re new to drug and alcohol rehab in Nevada, the concept of outpatient treatment may seem a bit odd. However, it does work, and it has its advantages, including:
- It’s more affordable compared to inpatient treatment.
- It allows you to work around your schedule and continue to work or go to classes or care for your family.
- It offers multiple levels of care, depending on your needs.
- Transitioning back to normal life is less challenging since you don’t have to leave your “normal” life entirely.
Disadvantages of Outpatient Rehab
Outpatient care isn’t suitable for every situation as it does come with a few disadvantages. This would include:
- A lack of medical detox programs
- You’re still surrounded by your everyday stressors, which can be triggering.
- There’s less supervision as you’re only required to attend meetings and therapy for a certain amount of time before returning home each day.
- It requires a lot more family support and involvement to help keep you on the right track.
Types of Drug and Alcohol Rehabs in Nevada
No two Nevada drug and alcohol rehabs will operate in the same way. While many follow evidence-based methods, each has its treatment philosophy, amenities, alternative activities, and many cater to specialized populations.
Holistic Rehab
Holistic rehab programs are centered on healing the mind, body, and spirit in addition to substance use recovery. Many of these programs don’t incorporate traditional methods like psychotherapy or the 12 steps. However, they do typically offer medically assisted detoxes and a range of other therapies, including meditation and yoga.
Holistic rehabs follow the philosophy that substance use largely stems from feelings of spiritual emphasis when there are no other physical or mental ailments such as injury or mental health disorders. Therefore, the goal is to get individuals on the right path via organic diets, wellness activities, complementary therapies such as acupuncture, creative therapies, and so on.
Christian and Faith-Based Rehab
The basis for Christian and other faith-based rehabs is the acknowledgment that the individual isn’t just suffering physically but spiritually and emotionally as well. These types of rehabs encourage their patients to form a connection with a higher power during their recovery. This connection is meant to give them something to rely on when recovery becomes challenging.
Therefore, Christian and faith-based rehabs offer specialized treatment that focuses primarily on spiritual healing.
Luxury Rehab
Luxury rehab centers are vastly different from the traditional institutional or hospital-like settings of most programs. Luxury facilities often embrace a holistic approach to recovery, with an emphasis on comfort, relaxation, and privacy. They also emphasized customized treatment plans that cater to the individual’s situation and needs.
This means counselor-to-patient ratios are typically lower. Because of the emphasis on privacy and comfort, luxury rehabs are also typically set in the more picturesque settings such as lakeside, on the beach, or in the mountains.
Executive Rehab
Executive rehabs are typically ideal for business professionals as they are tailored for the specific treatment of high-level and busy professionals who require more flexibility, privacy, and additional resources that are conducive to a working environment. Therefore, these types of rehabs offer amenities such as private conference rooms, access to computers and Wi-Fi, travel support for work trips, private rooms, and most importantly, discretion.
Dual Diagnosis Rehab
Dual diagnosis refers to co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Often, individuals use substances to cope with underlying mental health disorders, which only exasperates the issue. That’s why dual diagnosis rehab focuses on appropriately diagnosing an individual’s mental health condition first so they can get to the root of the substance use issues and treat them properly.
Medication-Assisted Treatment
Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is a form of substance use treatment that’s meant to support recovery and prevent cravings and subsequent overdoses. MAT uses FDA-approved medications in conjunction with behavioral therapy and counseling to provide a “whole-patient” approach.4
Research shows that MAT treatment programs come with clinically proven success to treat substance use disorders involving alcohol, heroin, and other opioids and sustain recovery.4 This is because the medications used work to balance brain chemistry, block the euphoric effects of substances, and relieve the psychological cravings to bring the body back to a normally functioning state.4
How to Get Methadone at a Methadone Clinic: Methadone is an FDA-approved synthetic analgesic like morphine that’s used to help treat substance use dependencies involving heroin and other opioids and opiates.5 It acts on the brain’s opioid receptors, minimizing pain and withdrawal symptoms, and stays active in the body for up to 36 hours.5
Since methadone is a highly regulated substance, there are specific guidelines for methadone treatment programs to administer it. This means individuals must meet certain criteria to receive admission into a methadone clinic. They’ll have to undergo a physical exam and provide blood and urine samples. They’ll also have to provide their history of substance use and any known mental health conditions. Some programs even have an age requirement.
A physician will also gauge a person’s level of substance dependency based on several factors to assess their needs for methadone. Those factors include withdrawal symptoms, overdose risk, failed attempts to stop using, and even what friends or families have to say about the individual’s substance use disorder.
Depending on the severity of the substance use disorder and location, individuals may be admitted immediately or put on a waitlist.
Finding Suboxone Doctors: Suboxone (also referred to as buprenorphine) is a prescription opioid medicine that also works to block the effects of opioids, including pain relief. It can be prescribed alone or with other medications, and it’s most often prescribed for substance use disorders that involve short-acting opioids. This would include heroin and prescription painkillers.
Suboxone is highly regulated, making it nearly impossible to get without a doctor’s approval and prescription. This can also make suboxone clinics and doctors difficult to reach, especially since providers prescribing the medication must have special training and be registered with the DEA.
Your first step in finding a suboxone doctor would be to check with your primary care doctor to see if they’re able to prescribe it, are willing to get the waiver required to prescribe it, or can refer you to another doctor or clinic. Another option is to investigate the methadone clinics in your area to see if they offer suboxone, or you can check the SAMHSA’s Physician Locator to find the right doctors.6
Naltrexone (Revia/Vivitrol): Naltrexone is an MAT option used to treat alcohol or opioid addiction and can be prescribed and administered by virtually any doctor.7 It comes in pill form or as an injectable; however, the injectables require a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) to ensure that the benefits of the medication outweigh the risks.
Naltrexone works to block the sedative and euphoric effects of opioids and alcohol by binding with and blocking the brain’s receptors to reduce cravings. The medication is non-addictive and is not an opioid or an opiate. Therefore it’s not considered to have overuse potential, nor will it cause withdrawal symptoms when its use ends.
Naltrexone is often prescribed as part of a comprehensive treatment plan that typically includes an entire rehab program.
Antabuse (Disulfiram) for Alcohol Addiction: Antabuse was one of the first medications prescribed for alcohol use disorder. It works by blocking the enzymes the body uses to process alcohol and can cause some nasty side effects if alcohol is consumed after it has been taken. This would include chest pain, nausea, dizziness, elevated heartbeat, thirst, and flushing.
This medication is only prescribed for individuals with chronic alcoholism and cannot be taken if an individual has consumed alcohol within the past 12 hours. It also cannot be taken if you’ve taken cough medicine or have eaten any food or desserts with alcohol—including vinegar.
Antabuse is not a cure for alcohol use disorders as it’s only meant to dissuade individuals from drinking with its unpleasant side effects. Therefore, it should be used in conjunction with a rehab treatment program for a positive outcome.
Acamprosate for Alcohol Use Disorder: Acamprosate is another prescription medication used to help curb alcoholism. It comes in pill form and is typically taken up to three times per day with food. The medication works to restore the natural balance of the neurotransmitters in the brain to reduce cravings helping individuals to abstain from alcohol use.
It should be noted that acamprosate does not alleviate withdrawal symptoms, and it is not a cure for alcoholism. Therefore, it’s typically only prescribed for individuals seeking treatment.
Should I Travel to Nevada for Alcohol and Drug Treatment?
If you’re wondering whether it’s a good idea to attend one of Nevada’s drug and alcohol rehabs, you’ll need to first consider your needs. If you have family or friends in the state that you want to be closer to for support during treatment, it may be beneficial for you to make the move. In other cases, you may just be looking to put distance between yourself and the environment that triggered your substance use.
Regardless of your reasoning for wanting to relocate for treatment, you’ll also want to think about where in Nevada would suit you best.
Regional Considerations in Nevada
The state of Nevada is located almost entirely within the Great Basin—which is a desert area that reaches into six different states. Nevada is also made up of three main regions, including the Columbia Plateau, the Sierra Nevada, and the Basin Range region.
The most populous cities in the state include Las Vegas, Henderson, Reno, North Las Vegas, Paradise, Spring Valley, Sunrise Manor, and Enterprise.
For most people, being close to Sin City isn’t exactly advantageous, although it is home to several rather luxurious and successful rehab facilities. If you’d prefer to get away from the temptations of populous cities, however, the mountains in the Sierra Nevada region may be perfect for you.
It all comes down to the type of environment that will help you heal.
Drug and Alcohol Laws in Nevada
In response to the nationwide opioid epidemic, Nevada has taken more legal action to support and protect its residents. Here are some of the recent substance laws to be aware of.
he Good Samaritan Law:Nevada’s Good Samaritan law (otherwise referred to as SB 459) grants immunity to individuals who act in good faith to:
- Administer opioid antagonists to someone experiencing an opioid-related overdose
- Call 911 if they or someone else is experiencing an overdose
The immunity is still there even if you have illicit substances or paraphernalia on your person, except for having large amounts with the intent to sell.
Assembly Bill 474, the Controlled Substance Abuse Prevention Act: The Controlled Substance Abuse Prevention Act aims to establish a better standard of care for prescribers. This piece of legislation was enacted to prioritize patient safety and responsibility—as in responsibly prescribing addictive medications by first ensuring that the benefits outweigh the risks.
Essentially, physicians must adhere to the bill’s guidelines to prevent the potential of substance misuse starting with unnecessarily prescribed opioids and opiates.
Assembly Bill 236: Nevada’s Assembly Bill 236 is still in the process of being evaluated and passed. However, one of its key components is to slow down the state’s prison population growth over the next ten years. This means keeping non-violent offenders with substance use disorders out of jail as well as “low-level” dealers.
Ultimately, the goal is to reduce the incarceration rate and reinvest the money saved into behavioral health. This would include providing law enforcement with better training and the appropriate tools to effectively intervene during a mental health or addiction crisis.
Resources
- Andrea Blin. “Addiction and Substance Abuse in Nevada.” (2017). In The Social Health of Nevada: Leading Indicators and Quality of Life in the Silver State.
- Whitley, R., & Azzam, I. (n.d.). Office of Analytics on behalf of Steve Sisolak Governor of State of Nevada.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2021, November 10). Mental Health and Substance Use Insurance Help.
- Chanell Baylor. SAMHSA (2021). Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT).
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2021, June 8). Methadone.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (n.d.). Buprenorphine Treatment Practitioner Locator.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2020, September 15). Naltrexone.
