Montana Meth Centers to Bring Innovative Treatment
By Dylan Tucker, 4-06-06
Two new methamphetamine treatment facilities are in the works for Lewistown and Boulder, a step corrections officials believe will make a significant difference in the backlog of inmates awaiting treatment for addictions.An 80-bed men’s treatment center will be constructed in Lewistown in February, and a 40-bed women’s center will follow in Boulder one month later. The two centers will admit inmates who are convicted of multiple offenses for meth possession. With Montana facing a rising meth problem, the number of beds are three times the number originally suggested by the Legislature for the project.
The centers will be built under partnerships with Community, Counseling and Correctional Services, Inc. and Boyd Andrew Community Services. The businesses received the highest scores from a committee that reviewed the proposed projects, which included Peg Shea, director of the Montana Meth Project.
Boulder’s center is estimated to cost $5.3 million, while construction estimates for the Lewistown center have not yet been released. The Boulder center contract is contingent upon State Land Board officials approving a land swap for the center from Corrections to Jefferson County at the board’s April 17 meeting.
The centers will cost roughly $5.2 million a year to operate, and triple the number of beds originally suggested by legislators. Prison officials say this will help meet a near-epidemic need for effective treatment of meth in Montana.
Treatment at the centers will be intensive: Based on the success of a small system now in place at the Montana Women’s Prison in Billings, addicts will spend nine months in the center, following a rigorous schedule comprised of chores, one-on-one counseling sessions and group therapy. The Matrix Program, as it is called, is designed specifically for meth addiction, which is particularly difficult to overcome long-term.
Of the more than 1,400 inmates at the Deer Lodge prison, roughly 1,100, or 80 percent, require drug or alcohol treatment, with numbers for meth treatment rapidly on the rise. But experts agree that meth addicts require longer, more intense treatment than the 60-day programs most inmates receive.
Up at 5 a.m. and in bed by 10 p.m., the program provides inmates with more than twice the amount of therapy sessions than existing treatment programs. After the nine-month program, graduates are released to a six-month stay at a prerelease center.
Despite the intensity of the program, it is less expensive than incarceration during the mandatory two-year stint for possession, say prison officials.
Department of Corrections Director Bill Slaughter has high hopes for the new centers, which he says reflect Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s goals to increase emphasis on treatment instead of incarceration for offenders.
“We’re heading down a road that will be beneficial to offenders, Montana taxpayers and the corrections system as a whole,” he said in a press release Tuesday.
Slaughter has been a strong advocate of innovative treatment techniques to combat meth addiction. His report to the Montana Legislature in 2005 outlined the staggering problem that Montana faces fighting meth.
“Many men and women who find themselves in prison are there not because the judge chose prison for them, but because they just cannot avoid drugs and alcohol while on probation, and, after numerous second chances, are revoked to prison,” Slaughter wrote.
Prison drug treatment counselors and other case workers have long argued the systems in place are largely ineffectual at breaking the cycle of crime, addiction and incarceration, and Slaughter believes the centers will help break the chain for more of Montana’s addicted offenders.
“This marks a new era for corrections in Montana,” Slaughter said. “One in which individualized programs to meet the unique and varying needs of offenders is the driving force.”
[End of article]
Great story Dylan. Sorry I couldn't help you out on the quote this morning.
Depending on who you're asking, only between 3-6% of Meth addicts will successfully make it through treatment and reach recovery -- a testament to the staggering challenge faced by addicts and treatment professionals alike.
If only 3-6% make it through treatment and reach "recovery" why bother? What has been happening to the other 94-97% all these years? It's not a recent problem. Why all the bother about it NOW? Are all these people dying? Are they killing other people? Are they running people down with cars (like drunks?). No. The problem is criminalizing and demonizing meth use instead of simply helping folks that develop serious issues in their lives (for whatever reason) like depression, unemployment, social maladjustment, or criminal behavior instead of blaming a chemical. Much of this focus is a product of right-wing political hype, unfortunately geared towards securing political clout, votes, and distracting us from REAL social emergencies like poverty, injustice, education, and war.
Comment By Scott, 4-13-06I'd love to see the data that supports the "3-6%" recovery rate. It's contrary to the research done at UCLA which indicates recovery from meth is very similar to that of cocaine and other drugs. They site a 40% abstinence rate for meth, from the Matrix study! Inaccurate info feeds the problem and the stigma!
Comment By Joseph Mott, 4-13-06Here is the outcome summary for the Matrix study from 1997:
A followup sample of 114 patients out of the 500 referred to in the Huber et al. (1997) report was followed at 2-5 years after treatment. There was a significant change in self-reported methamphetamine use in the 30 days prior to treatment (86% reporting use), and 30 days prior to follow-up (17.5% reporting use). Of the 54 who had reported daily use at baseline, 39 (72.2%) were abstinent at follow-up. At treatment admission 26% of the follow-up sample were employed compared to 62% employed at follow-up. Many users maintained sobriety for periods of more than two years.
What did the Matrix study consist of? Essentially, group meetings during the first four months (4-6 hrs/wk) and then twice weekly AA meetings.
Quite frankly, crystal meth is not physically addictive; users are prone to psychological dependence. There is no withdrawal as there is with alcohol or heroin. Essentially, when you want to stop, you simply stop. You don't even need help in the sense of hospitalization as you do for these other drugs, because stopping is not physically dangerous, as it is with really addicting drugs. The entire notion of a "War on Meth" is ridiculous. But note how it's been used to expand the powers of the Patriot Act...
The U.S. Congress recently added a provision to the USA Patriot Act, the “Combat Meth Act,” that requires stores to keep pseudoephedrine products locked behind counters and customers purchasing these products to present identification and register their purchase complete with a signature. Americans suffer from over one billion colds each year, according to the National Institute of Health. A government “watch list” of cold and allergy sufferers is a senseless waste of resources and an unwarranted infringement on privacy.
Meth use during the past four years has either declined or stayed flat, according to two major national drug-use studies. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that meth use did not increase at all from 2002 through 2004, the last year for which there is data. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Study, which examines drug use among youth, actually shows a decline in meth use among high-school students from 1999 to 2005.
Approximately 600,000 Americans, representing less than 0.2 percent of the population, reported using meth in the past month, according to the most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health. In comparison, more than 120 million Americans, representing more than 50 percent of the population, reported using alcohol in the past month.
I am curious to find out where I can get information relating to the following statement: "Despite the intensity of the program, it is less expensive than incarceration during the mandatory two-year stint for possession, say prison officials." Was a cost-benefit analysis done? If so, were the findings published and can I possibly get a copy? Who would I contact to get this information?
Comment By Joseph Mott, 4-13-06The United States is the country with the MOST prison inmates per capita in the entire world. If you look into it, one of the reasons is our country's drug policy. We criminalize recreational drugs, and spend a whole lot of money prosecuting that course of action. The prisons are overflowing. The nation will not re-examine its drug policy (not politically possible...that would be a political death knell for any politician) so it's not surprising that there will be folks who will offer an alternative and take some of those "criminals" off of our hands...for a price. Don't be fooled into thinking that SOMEONE is going to be making money off of these "meth treatment facilities," which are essentially just big holding pens with AA meetings.
Comment By william petty ma,cpc,npcc, 4-18-06i am a substance abuse counselor here in phoenix, arizona. are there any job opennings there in montana, i am very interested in your meth program
Comment By ella martin, 4-21-0625 years ago I was a meth addict - sticking needles in my veins whenever I got a chance. Yes, I quit. No, I didn't do it on my own. I did it because God took it from me. Not physically additive? I beg to differ. psychologically additictive - most definitely. Meth destroys people; it turns them into animals. No, just putting people in jail doesn't solve the situation; rehab can if the person has reached the point where he or she is ready for help. But to just say "pull up your bootstraps and quit" and "quitting is easy" is ridiculous. Meth is death.
Comment By Joseph Mott, 4-22-06Well, if you're going to disagree that meth is not physically addictive, you're going to have to define your terms, because we are not speaking the same language. It is not "physically addictive" as the term is used in medicine; there are no physical signs of withdrawal, no withdrawal syndrome like delerium tremens, no life threatening reaction like cutting off someone's heroin. Addicts do not have to use in order to survive...you can quit on the spot. Alcoholics and heroin addicts can DIE if they quit; those folks require alternate substances to stabilize their physiology (methadone in the case of heroin, benzodiazepines in the case of alchohol). Crystal meth addicts just go to sleep until their sleep deficit is made up. This is not to say that the psychological "need" is not great; but it's more of a "desire" that gets reinforced over time by gradual lifestyle and social changes. I never said "quitting is easy." But many, many people DO simply quit meth. I have many friends that have done so. I have also been a meth addict; and been through rehab, and AA, and CMA, and NA, and I didn't "quit" until I decided to on my own. And when I did, I didn't require any of that. The point is, you can't "make" people quit if they don't want to; and many don't need to...meth is not heroin, alcohol, or crack cocaine. Demonizing is as bad as "glorifying" (a term I'm sure comes to your mind as your read this) this substance. And by the way: after smoking it daily for a year and a half, I did NOT turn into an "animal" thank you very, very much for that characterization.
Comment By Karla, 4-28-07I have a relative headed into one of your new meth rehab programs, I think this is a good thing. My fear is, because this kid's parents are both addicted to meth, what will happen to this kid when released. There is that natural loyality to one's parents abd I am afraid they will drag him back into it. Is there a part of the program that deals with this or helps to learn how to deal with it
Comment By Joseph Mott, 4-28-07The kid's success is going to be very dependent on his relationship with his parents. Is he living at home? Is he going to have contact with his parents? There's no way a kid who has developed a problem with meth is going to be able to stay "clean" when his parents are using, if he has any significant interaction with that environment. I hate to be a nay-sayer, and it's unfortunate that this is the case, because parental support CAN be quite important; but in his case the opposite is true (regardless of what his parents may SAY; it's what they BELIEVE, as evidenced by their own choices and behavior, that counts).
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