Pubdate: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 Source: Sun, The (Yuma, AZ) Copyright: 2007 The Sun Contact: http://yumasun.com/opinion/sendletter.php Website: http://www.yumasun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1258 Author: Nicole E. Squibbs Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) PROBLEMS INVOLVING METH IMPACT ALL DETENTION FACILITIES Maj. Leon Wilmot of the Yuma County Sheriff's Office said Yuma County jail does not have any specialized programs to deal with methamphetamine addicts who are incarcerated. "Unfortunately, because they are not in here long enough, we do not. We can give them resources so they can get into those programs once they're out." But Wilmot said problems involving methamphetamine affect all of the jails. "A lot of your narcotics crimes are integrated into other crimes, like burglary, assaults, thefts. A lot of your crimes are associated with meth. They spend all their money and when they run out of money, they need to steal things to sell." Wilmot said lately there has been a spike in theft of aluminum water sprinkler pipes, because meth addicts are trading them for cash at salvage yards. "They break into residential and commercial structures to find anything of value they trade or pawn for money for drugs." He said 12 percent, or 69 inmates, of the total current jail population were incarcerated for dangerous drugs. Not all of those were meth arrests, but, he said, many other people were arrested for violating probation, which may have been for meth use. In Arizona Department of Corrections facilities located in the Yuma area, roughly 6 percent of those incarcerated are or have been methamphetamine users, according to ADC statistics. The ADC has decided it needs a targeted program to help methamphetamine users kick the habit to help save taxpayers' money by keeping them from committing the same crimes over and over again and ending up back in the system, according to ADC spokesperson Katie Decker. "Because meth is such an incredibly powerful drug, and because it's growing so rapidly ... we need to get special help to deal with this situation. There's no research on how to deal with meth in prisons. It's a new problem." After seeing the pattern, ADC began recent tracking of meth users. Decker said detox programs do not solve the problem, because they only make the inmates able to function, not cure them of the addiction. So ADC is asking the state for $233,000 to fund a methamphetamine pilot program. Of the ADC inmates admitted statewide since April 2006, 13.1 percent were admitted meth users. Decker said half of all the meth offenders admitted to prison officials that they were self-proclaimed addicts who were under the influence of meth when they committed the crime that landed them in jail. "They have gone through detox at the county," Decker said. "When they get here, they still need to be treated. We need to target specifically meth users - to reduce the likelihood of them returning and costing more (for the) taxpayers." - ----- In The Works Proposed Arizona Department of Corrections Methamphetamine Pilot Program - Fiscal year 2008 - - Target population: 300 inmates (1 clinician per 100 inmates) - - Treatment environment: Correctional therapeutic community - - Treatment mode: Group format - - Group size: 16 inmates - - Sessions per week: 3 sessions, a total of 60 group sessions in 3 phases - - Length of session: 2 hours per session - - Length of program: 6 months - - Treatment modality: Cognitive-behavior - - Treatment content: Early recovery skills, recovery skills, relapse prevention - - Clinical components: Therapy groups, psycho-educational groups, support groups - - Other program components: Basic education/GED preparation, part-time work, peer mentoring, peer tutoring - - After-care: Step-down support services for 6 months after program completion Source: ADC Counseling and Treatment Services - Addiction Treatment Services Program - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman