Northern California Addiction Treatment Providers Struggle to Help Meth Users

Addiction treatment providers in northern California are finding it difficult to treat the many meth users seeking help, at a time when their resources are shrinking, The Fresno Bee reports.

A recent report by the Office of National Drug Control Policy found in Sacramento, 40 percent of adult male booked arrestees tested positive for methamphetamine at the time of arrest in 2012, compared to less than 1 percent in all other sites except Denver, where 13 percent tested positive. In 2000, the report notes, 31 percent of Sacramento adult male arrestees tested positive for methamphetamine.

During the period between 2000 and 2012, the amount of state and federal funds available for treatment programs in the Sacramento area decreased, and local tax revenue has not risen enough to make up for the shortfall. Enrollment in meth treatment programs in the city has dropped 29 percent, according to the article.

The California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs reports 78,000 people were admitted to meth addiction programs in 2006; five years later, fewer than 44,000 people received treatment. Officials say much of the reduction in services is due to the state’s cuts in funding for a program that diverted nonviolent drug offenders from jail to treatment programs. The state and federal funding for the program dried up in 2011.