On June 28, the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources held a hearing to discuss availability and effectiveness of methamphetamine (meth) treatment programs.
Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) said that “the meth epidemic has touched every state in the country, draining resources, causing serious environmental damage, and destroying lives.” He acknowledged the serious challenges in designing treatment programs for meth addicts: “Traditional treatment programs for alcohol and marijuana are inadequate for dealing with the unique clinical challenges presented by this drug. Such treatment options, sometimes the only treatment options available in communities hardest hit by the meth epidemic, result in very poor post-treatment outcomes for meth users. And this represents our greatest challenge: how do we ensure that our federal treatment efforts are addressing the meth epidemic in a measurable way in the areas hardest hit by the scourge?”
Dr. Charles Curie, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, spoke to the serious and growing nature of meth addiction: “Our most recent TEDS [Treatment Episode Data Set] data indicates that the proportion of admissions for the abuse of methamphetamine has grown from one percent in 1992 to seven percent in 2004. In 2004, there were 129,079 treatment admissions for primary methamphetamine abuse, an increase of 286 percent since 1994.” He stressed the need for interagency cooperation, saying, “Methamphetamine users and their families, in addition to drug treatment programs, often rely on emergency rooms, the primary health care system, the mental health care system, child and family services, and the criminal justice system. As a result, addressing methamphetamine use often requires collaboration among law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, probation officers, treatment providers, prevention specialists, child welfare workers, legislators, business people, educators, and retailers…who all have critical roles in the prevention and treatment process.”
Patrick Fleming, director of the Salt Lake County Division of Drug Abuse Services, testified that gender differences in methamphetamine abuse are pronounced, especially in Utah. He said that women who use meth are typically “depressed, dependent on a male for financial support, lacking in marketable vocational skills, and overwhelmed with child care responsibilities. Of particular concern is that two-thirds (68 percent) of these women have young, dependent children.” He said that meth appeals to women because it gives them energy and helps them to lose weight. Mr. Fleming said that insurance parity for treatment of substance abuse, treatment over incarceration, and decreasing supply were important steps in reducing addiction, but also called attention to the need to “make treatment available on demand to all pregnant and parenting women.”
A social worker from Indiana, Leah C. Heaston, testified that “women present an interesting challenge as they tend to be the primary caregiver for children in the home, and they run the risk of pregnancy. In Indiana, 47 percent of those individuals abusing methamphetamines are women, and research has shown that women are less likely to seek treatment for their drug use than their male counterparts. Women have higher rates of depression, anxiety, poor self-esteem, sexual abuse, poverty and lack of skills necessary for employment all of which become additional barriers to treatment. In addition to those barriers, women often need child care services which further adds to the cost of treatment.”
Aaronette Noble, a recovering methamphetamine addict, testified along with her husband, Darren (also a recovering addict), and her son, Joey Binkely. Ms. Noble told the subcommittee that she began abusing drugs at an early age and was herself the child of addicts. She said, “I tried single adult programs but I never succeeded in staying clean. The programs were very short-term; they were only 90 days at most. I was not helped as a mother who had this shame and guilt because of my addiction. My children were not provided services. We could not heal together as a family.” She called the family treatment program she was eventually referred to, and completed, “a miracle.”
Ms. Noble’s testimony also included data from a 2003 Center for Substance Abuse and Treatment evaluation of its Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Their Infants Program, which provides comprehensive, family-based treatment for substance abusing mothers and their children. The evaluation concluded that, six months after completing treatment, 60 percent of mothers remained drug and alcohol free; criminal arrests declined by 43 percent; 88 percent of the children treated in the program along with their mothers remained stabilized and living with their mothers; employment rose from seven percent before treatment to 37 percent post-treatment; and enrollment in educational and vocational training increased from two percent prior to treatment to 19 percent post-treatment.
Also testifying were Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse; Russell Cronkhite; Dr. Bertha Madras, deputy director, Office of National Drug Control Policy; and Michael B. Harle, president of Gaudenzia.
