Facts About Baltimore
The 1st umbrella factory in America was established in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1828.
The first post office system in the United States was inaugurated in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1774.
America's first Catholic cathedral, the Baltimore Basilica of Assumption, is located in Baltimore, Maryland.
Downtown Baltimore, Maryland is the economic center of Greater Baltimore and home to the city's fastest-growing neighborhoods. Within a one-mile radius of Pratt and Light streets, there are 103,000 jobs, 42,000 residents, and 18,000 students.
DEA Info For Maryland
Maryland is located on the north end of the mid-Atlantic region and is bisected by Interstate 95.
Several indoor grow operations were also seized in the Baltimore area in 2007. However, most of the marijuana that is trafficked in Maryland is imported from the southwestern U.S.
Methamphetamine is not in high demand nor is it widely available in the state of Maryland.
In 2007 reduced availability and higher prices of cocaine in Maryland indicated that there was a shortage of cocaine in the Baltimore area, as in other parts of the country.
Baltimore, Maryland is deeply affected by the heroin trade, and is considered one of the most heroin-plagued cities in the nation for over a decade.
Maryland's drug problem is complicated by the presence of two major metropolitan areas in the state: Baltimore and its surrounding counties in the northern part of Maryland, and the suburban counties of Washington, DC in southern Maryland.
The use of most illicit drugs has generally declined since the late 1970s, with marijuana remaining the most commonly used illegal drug. In the 1980s, popular use of cocaine and later, the smokeable cocaine base called crack, grew. The National Household Survey's revised estimates of the percentage of those age 12 and older reporting current or past month use of cocaine declined from 3% in 1985 (the first year any data on crack were included) to 1% in 1990, and has remained at 0.7% for each year, 1992Ä1995.
PCP was originally tested as a surgical anesthetic in the 1950s. It is known as a dissociative anesthetic because it can make a person feel a sense of detachment, as if the mind is separated from the body. Use in humans was abandoned because many patients became agitated, delusional and irrational while recovering from their operations. PCP use was eventually limited to anesthetizing and tranquilizing large animals. PCP is now illegal. PCP sold on the street is made illegally in labs.
Now, as a parent, you're probably thinking, "My teenage child would never be involved in such an issue." Most teens entering high school are usually highly susceptible to experimentation, and to them, consuming OTC drugs is an alternative to doing riskier, illegal drugs. What these teens are unaware of is the fact that OTC drug over-dosage is equally as dangerous as marijuana or ecstasy. A resource officer, a high school senior, and a pharmacist all agree that the new popular drugs are found in the home medicine. Parents find it hard to believe that all of this is occurring right under their very own noses. However, the time it takes for you to grab a soda out of the refrigerator is enough time for your son or daughter to sneak into the medicine cabinet, grab 10 or 11 pills, and run back upstairs. The easy access that teens seem to have is one of the key problems to drug misuse. Basically, anything can intoxicate your child with an "artificial high." From Sharpies, to cough syrups, to bleach, it seems that home isn't as safe as you thought it was. It seems nearly impossible to keep OTC drugs away from children, but locking up your medicine cabinet seems like a healthy start.
Alcohol abuse in later adulthood is a rapidly growing problem. Recent estimates of the prevalence of alcoholism among older adults range from 6% to 16%, and these statistics are likely conservative given the furtive nature of alcoholism. The U.S. Census Bureau (2001) has projected that by 2030, 1 in 5 individuals will be over 65, and, as the number of older adults increases, the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol problems are likely to become increasingly important. Alcohol problems among older adults are often undiagnosed, untreated, or treated inappropriately because the problems may be mistaken for other conditions related to aging. The stereotypical characteristics of older adults--such as being frail, helpless, and in poor health--may, in fact, be symptoms of alcohol problems. In addition, alcohol abuse in later adulthood is often not recognized because older adults tend to drink more at home than in public and to drink smaller amounts at a time.