Pubdate: Thu, 29 Jun 2006
Source: Arkansas News Bureau (Wire: AR)
Copyright: 2006 Arkansas News Bureau
Author: Maria Hegstad, Stephens Washington Bureau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

RURAL METH ADDICTS HAVE TROUBLE GETTING TREATMENT

Methamphetamine use has hit rural communities the hardest, and those 
also are areas where treatment programs are most limited, experts 
told Congress on Wednesday.

A common, but untrue, myth is that meth users can't overcome their 
addictions, said Richard Rawson, a professor at the University of 
California at Los Angeles. Rawson said his UCLA clinic treats people 
addicted to alcohol, cocaine, heroin and meth. Meth users have 
similar success rates.

But those addicts who most need help can't get to it, said Leah 
Heaston, a director of treatment centers in rural Indiana, told the 
House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources.

Finding and retaining qualified staff is difficult in rural areas, 
Heaston said. She described constant job openings at her clinics, and 
pointed out the high cost of training new staff.

Arkansas is among 12 states with nearly one percent or more of the 
population over the age of 12 having used meth in 2001, 2002 or 2003, 
according to a study released last fall by Department of Health and 
Human Services.

Seven percent of high school girls in Arkansas and 10 percent of high 
school boys reported using meth in a U.S. Center for Disease Control 
survey released earlier this month.

One positive sign for rural areas is the decrease of home-cooking 
meth labs, said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., the subcommittee chairman. 
The reductions can be attributed to laws limiting the sale of cold 
medications containing psuedoephedrine, an ingredient in home-cooked 
meth, said Bertha Madras, a deputy director in the White House's drug 
control policy office.

But Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., said police in his rural district 
have seen addicts circumventing these laws. He asked Madras how law 
enforcement and drug treatment programs could better cooperate.

Madras lauded drug courts, which she said provide the best means of 
providing users with incentive to attend treatment. McHenry agreed, 
but said in rural areas there aren't enough of them.

Heaston also described transportation problems - many rural 
communities have no public transit system, so patients can't get to 
treatment. Rural communities also often don't have the bed-space to 
offer enough in-patient treatment or detoxification, she said.

Cost for treatment is another problem. The treatment program touted 
to congressmen on Wednesday, the Matrix Model, costs $6,000 per 
person, Heaston said. Many users are not able to afford it. They have 
often been in jail, have felony drug records, and have lost their 
homes, cars and jobs due to drug use, she said.

Her description was confirmed by two recently reformed meth addicts 
who testified. Darren and Aaronette Noble, of St. Louis, described 
years of jail time, drug use, arrests and living out of their car.

"When I was using meth, I felt dead most of the time," Aaronette 
Noble said. "My teeth and my hair were falling out and other people 
had custody of my children."

The Nobles and another former meth addict, Russell Cronkheit of 
Fairfax County, Va., described the transformation that treatment and 
recovery meant for their lives. Their message: meth addiction can be 
treated, but it is difficult.

Meth abusers will need frequent treatment, and may relapse before the 
treatment is effective, said Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the 
National Institute of Drug Abuse.

"Relapse is not a sign of failed treatments," she said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman