News As meth overdoses surge in Seattle, experts recommend incentive program

[thegreenhand]

As meth overdoses surge in Seattle, experts recommend incentive program​

Anthony Monzon
CBS
31 Oct 2022

Excerpt:

A new report shows meth use is spiking in Seattle, and experts say an incentive program could go a long way toward keeping people clean.

"We have a real epidemic on our hands," said WSU Professor and Researcher Dr. Michael McDonell, who leads the university's PRISM Collaborative. "As a result of the higher potency and the greater availability, we're seeing increased use, and we're seeing increased deaths, and this is something that is really kind of scary."

McDonell is one of the minds behind a recent City of Seattle audit highlighting the need for action. According to the report, King County saw 98 methamphetamine-involved deaths in 2016. Last year, that number reached 365, and as of early October, it's already at 318 this year.

"I think that the city, like many other cities, realizes they've got to do something about this," McDonell said.

 

[thegreenhand]

report

 

[The Shadow Self]

They are about 20 years late to declare an "epidemic" with regards to Meth in America. Like opiates, it has been like a wrecking ball to the lives and futures of millions of people, as opiates have been as well. All this while the country is being inundated with drugs to the tune of metrics tons per day. And that's not even big pharma's contribution to this debacle. It's very tragic, IMO.

And, it is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better, for sure.

 

[Mr. Krinkle]

ya let everybody do their thing in a 2 block radius, and then you start arresting the dealers, and then watch how they magically disappear


and yea it is that simple

 

[Burnt Offerings]

They are about 20 years late to declare an "epidemic" with regards to Meth in America. Like opiates, it has been like a wrecking ball to the lives and futures of millions of people, as opiates have been as well. All this while the country is being inundated with drugs to the tune of metrics tons per day. And that's not even big pharma's contribution to this debacle. It's very tragic, IMO.

And, it is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better, for sure.

I don't know if you were alive back in the late 1990s/early 2000s, but they actually did refer to it as an "epidemic" back then, at least in rural America

 

[thegreenhand]

And, it is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better, for sure.

do you think the sort of monetary incentive for sobriety that is recommended in this report would help ?

ya let everybody do their thing in a 2 block radius, and then you start arresting the dealers, and then watch how they magically disappear


and yea it is that simple

not sure if this is sarcasm or not, but if you really think that we can simply arrest our way out of the problem, i have bad news for you.

 

[The Shadow Self]

Personally, I don't believe that you can either "pay" nor "arrest" your way out of this problem. It will take a whole lot more than these simple "solutions" to even begin taking a dent out of this crisis in general. I am not taking a side one way or the other, but being someone who has been on the front line of this set of problems for a very long time, I know what a complex set of variables contribute to things getting this way to begin with. Having said that, rewards and punishments are only a very small part of a huge constellation of moving parts that have contributed to this rather human tragedy that is unfolding. And sadly, making more effective treatment available to people with addiction and/or mental health issues is not a priority in this country.

I worked in a hospital setting for decades and watched this care system collapse, and it was over-burdened 20+ years ago and we all knew it and knew it was all going to get worse. And it did.

Go to any psychiatric ER on any given day and they are packed to the rafters, especially if you are a child or adolescent. It is not uncommon to go there for assessment and have to wait days to be assessed, and god forbid you should need a inpatient bed. If you get one, that could take days or weeks if you are lucky enough to get a spot to begin with. They are much more likely to put in "wrap around services" and send you home, which is limited to say the least. The resources have not been prioritized for decades and as far as I am concerned, those that could do anything about it just aren't interested and committed. That's just the tip of the iceberg, but thought I'd add that.

 

[Opi_Kid_Rock]

ya let everybody do their thing in a 2 block radius, and then you start arresting the dealers, and then watch how they magically disappear


and yea it is that simple

Online social media sales is the medium in which the business is done and will be done going forward.

 

[The Shadow Self]

I don't know if you were alive back in the late 1990s/early 2000s, but they actually did refer to it as an "epidemic" back then, at least in rural America

Yes, I was. And I do remember it well. There have always been certain areas that have been impacted more deeply than others based on various factors, including being close to known trafficking routes. When you look at the numbers now, they make what was happening back then look like a minor problem by comparison. Same is true for opiates, the number of addicts, overdose deaths, etc. Humanity is currently being ravaged by these drugs. It has become too huge a business model, and there are lots of people making money off of people's suffering. This is why you have a country like Mexico that without drug trafficking, would collapse in upon itself entirely if it was removed. And, there are billions of dollars keeping anyone from doing anything about it. It's a big, ugly and complex affair, for sure. The bottom line is that there hasn't been anything of substance done to address the problems adequately, regardless of what anyone labels the set of problems. That is one reason why it is getting far worse and I have no reason to believe it will stop.

Online social media sales is the medium in which the business is done and will be done going forward.

It is for now, but sooner or later, they will crack down on that as well.

 

[thegreenhand]

Go to any psychiatric ER on any given day and they are packed to the rafters, especially if you are a child or adolescent. It is not uncommon to go there for assessment and have to wait days to be assessed, and god forbid you should need a inpatient bed.

i've recently seen this play out for someone dear to me. there's simply no beds

 

[Landrew]

report

It is more transparent and easier to figure out than the Oregon version.

Cant quite bring themselves to cut straight to the chase, but this is closer...

 

[Arden225]

As a former meth addict of almost 40 yrs, I'm 53 now, so actually 38 yrs, not one single time have I ever heard the utterance of meth and overdose involved in the same statement. Maybe in a question format, but never a statement. I would be very interested to see what they consider evidence to the fact.

I also happen to reside in the greater Seattle area

 

[G_Chem]

As a former meth addict of almost 40 yrs, I'm 53 now, so actually 38 yrs, not one single time have I ever heard the utterance of meth and overdose involved in the same statement. Maybe in a question format, but never a statement. I would be very interested to see what they consider evidence to the fact.

I also happen to reside in the greater Seattle area

Yea honestly this is surprising. I remember in fact people saying a meth overdose was almost impossible. People would say you could over amp but not actually die. Obviously this is false but I’m finding this sudden large increase in overdoses odd indeed.

If the meth really is different these days maybe the impurities make folks use way more combined with the cheap price make it easier than ever to OD.

-GC

 

[Landrew]

In Vancouver I havent even heard of peeps dying from suprize fent meth . let alone fucking meth alone.

i think I can elabarate this graph better now.

they are including both alchohol and opiate + methamp rather covertly, and take it further by not even telling us how many died from meth alone.
This seems to me another level of blatant, easier to spot he lie or whatever.

I can see myself killing myself accidentally with a mickey when im on meth... Jimi Hendricks, bike crash, who knows?

the other study from Oregon/Idaho was more 'covert' by not being so blatantly deceitful imo.

 

[Arden225]

In Vancouver I havent even heard of peeps dying from suprize fent meth . let alone fucking meth alone.

i think I can elabarate this graph better now.

they are including both alchohol and opiate + methamp rather covertly, and take it further by not even telling us how many died from meth alone.
This seems to me another level of blatant, easier to spot he lie or whatever.

I can see myself killing myself accidentally with a mickey when im on meth... Jimi Hendricks, bike crash, who knows?

the other study from Oregon/Idaho was more 'covert' by not being so blatantly deceitful imo.

For sure, in the same way a broken leg became COVID 19. Lmao

 

[qwertygina]

Yea honestly this is surprising. I remember in fact people saying a meth overdose was almost impossible. People would say you could over amp but not actually die. Obviously this is false but I’m finding this sudden large increase in overdoses odd indeed.

If the meth really is different these days maybe the impurities make folks use way more combined with the cheap price make it easier than ever to OD.

-GC

Probably.
It's really weird though. Like you I'm surprised. Never before heard of anyone OD'ing on meth.

Times are changing drastically .
I know of 3 people that supposedly died from Meth use. Staying away away from that stuff.

It seems as though anything is possible and they are putting just about anything in all drugs. We are probably guinea pigs for some unseen evil experiment . Who knows.
Disturbing to say the least.

 

[thegreenhand]

If the meth really is different these days maybe the impurities make folks use way more combined with the cheap price make it easier than ever to OD.

I would say the most likely culprit is polysubstance use.

Overdose reporting is just dogshit in this country and any presence of the drug (even minute) counts as "contributing" to the overdose.

 

[crazyhairman]

There's already and incentive to use there. High quality cheap drugs everywhere and social safety nets for drug users and homeless. Why would anyone ever stay clean there?

What's the program? Pay them to stay clean?
Hey man it's your taxes. I moved up there years ago to get clean from my own addiction. But I walled myself off from people and just worked through it personally.

It was heartbreaking to see the zombie homeless population everyday. Then one day a guy high on drugs walked into our workplace and assaulted three of our employees. I called the police, they talked with the guy outside and let him go. I was dumfounded. I said fuck this and moved back to Texas.

I don't always agree with the drug policy down here but at least when people commit violence they go to jail.

Good luck Seattle I'm out

 

[Mr. Krinkle]

There's already and incentive to use there. High quality cheap drugs everywhere and social safety nets for drug users and homeless. Why would anyone ever stay clean there?

What's the program? Pay them to stay clean?
Hey man it's your taxes. I moved up there years ago to get clean from my own addiction. But I walled myself off from people and just worked through it personally.

It was heartbreaking to see the zombie homeless population everyday. Then one day a guy high on drugs walked into our workplace and assaulted three of our employees. I called the police, they talked with the guy outside and let him go. I was dumfounded. I said fuck this and moved back to Texas.

I don't always agree with the drug policy down here but at least when people commit violence they go to jail.

Good luck Seattle I'm out

ive lived here for 25 years...and ive watched it deteriorate, and people who don't live here and haven't seen what we've seen have the nerve to tell me "if you really think that we can simply arrest our way out of the problem, i have bad news for you"

 

[voivod]

Meth overdoses are rare, what happens is that if you die on an opiod overdose and have meth in your bloodstream, in the USA this counts as 1 death from opiods other than methadone and 1 death from meth, which is even mentioned somewhere on the NCHS website. Since meth use in opioid users is increasing, more deaths involving meth are recorded, although meth isn't the underlying cause of death.