As Heroin Epidemic Grows, So Does Rehab Wait

As the U.S. heroin epidemic grows, so does the wait list for federally-funded rehab, NBC News reported.

In Massachusetts, substance abusers have to wait weeks to get help. In Florida, it's a month.

One Ohio woman couldn't wait. That's why she asked a judge to send her to jail so she could get clean. "There's no help out there anymore," Kayla Dempsey told NBC affiliate WFMJ. "There's a three-month waiting list for any rehab around here because of the heroin epidemic."

Nationwide, only 11 per cent of substance abusers get help from treatment centers, according to a 2012 study in American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

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