increased 66% from 2014-2018. Close to home, Yellowstone County’s abuse/neglect cases increased 177% from 2014-2018 and, in almost 65% of those cases, at least one primary caregiver abused meth. • Filling treatment facilities: Meth related treatment admissions increased 13% from 2013-2016, facilities are at capacity and the waiting lists are long, especially for Medicaid beds. • Burdening health and mental health care facilities: Billings Clinic had over 12,000 visits for Substance Use in 2018, up 130% from 2016. St. Vincent Healthcare had more than 3,400 visits for the same last year, a 28% increase from 2016. • Causing overdose deaths: Drug overdose is the 10th leading cause of death in Yellowstone County. • Significantly increasing violent crime: There are 1.5 aggravated assaults per day in Yellowstone County alone. • Overcrowded jails: Montana has seen major increases in the jail population, and the public cost for one person in prison is $30,000/ year. And, the burden continues to grow as indicated by District Court filings which have more than doubled since 2010. Despite the over crowding of jails and overloading of our courts, Twito notes that he is still charging meth residue cases. “Many prosecutors are not charging these crimes due to capacity issues, but ultimately that just kicks the can down the road.” The statistics paint a bleak picture, but the solutions provide a promising silver-lining. Twito himself remarked, “Billings is still a very safe community. My kid still rides his bike to school. Growth in a community comes with a natural uptick in crime, but Billings is on top of it.”
THE SCIENCE OF METH ADDICTION Many question why Methamphetamine addiction is more of a problem than other substances, such as heroin, cocaine or even opioids. Meth has many distinct features that make it more desirable as well as highly effective. Not only is meth easy to find and relatively inexpensive to buy, it is also highly addictive. Methamphetamines are stimulants that are structurally similar to dopamine, the neurotransmitter in the brain that is often dubbed the pleasure center. While this is similar to what other drugs do, it is far more addictive.
For instance, meth and cocaine have similar psychological effects, but cocaine is quickly removed and completely metabolized by the body (within 1 hour) while meth remains in the system for much longer (up to 12 hours), and a larger percentage of the drug stays unchanged in the body leading to longer stimulation. While both drugs block the re-uptake of dopamine in the brain, meth goes one step further in increasing the release of dopamine as well, leading to higher concentrations in the brain. The dopamine that is released from meth is far higher than the release from everyday pleasurable activities. Over time, the brain becomes acclimated to this higher level and expects continued similar stimuli for pleasure released. Imagine going through each day, often for as long as a year, never feeling pleasure from anything in life. This is the crux of the methamphetamine addiction issue; the brain forgets how to create its own dopamine and users continually use because they cannot face life without pleasure. “Coming down from meth is depressing and lonely,” explains Rimrock Chief Operating Office Coralee Schmitz. “Patients become so desperate to feel pleasure, even a mild sense of joy. But it takes a long time for the brain to re-learn how to regulate and create dopamine, and it takes an incredible amount of patience during the recovery process – thus why it’s so difficult to get off of meth.” Along with dopamine release, methamphetamines stimulate a false sense of confidence that consequently leads to violent behaviors in people. Users get a rush of pleasure, but then paranoia sets in, they stop sleeping and others seem out to get them, all of which triggers spontaneous violent behaviors and is a main contributor to the violent crime happening in Yellowstone County.
WHAT ARE BUSINESSES DOING? The business community is being proactive in their efforts to address the methamphetamine abuse in Yellowstone County. The Yellowstone Substance Abuse Connect Coalition was established last May to spur action and focus on a holistic view of substance abuse issues; one that includes prevention, treatment and enforcement. The Coalition is made up of members from 65 non-profit organizations, local businesses, and government and service agencies that work to secure resources for programs already in place, and to ultimately reduce drug-related crime and addiction in Yellowstone County. In addition, the Coalition has used a federal drug prevention grant to draft
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a community assessment of substance abuse resources and the gaps needing to be addressed. A community planning conference will be held on July 16-17, with the goal of completing the plan by December. There are also many businesses that have committed to hiring recovering addicts in an attempt to be part of the solution and to help increase the success of rehabilitation for users. Schmitz mentioned three businesses that are specifically hiring individuals in recovery: The Sassy Biscuit, Perkins, and Stella’s Kitchen, but many others do as well. These businesses work around a recovering addict’s treatment schedule as well as encourage an honest and forthright relationship with their employees about addiction, treatment, and people who are struggling with meth use. “Knowing your employer cares enough to help you get into treatment can make all the difference in a recovering addict’s life,” says Schmitz. She also stated that many businesses prefer those employees that are in treatment because they are accountable to such a large number of people – judges, peer mentors, and treatment counselors - and can be far more reliable than other candidates. Schmitz said, “There is so much that goes into the whole person treatment for a user, and it can really affect the entire community.”
SOLUTIONS
Project Safe Neighborhoods The Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Montana are attacking the meth epidemic by reducing the supply of the drug through law enforcement and decreasing demand for the drug through prevention, treatment and drug court diversion. These efforts combined to create Project Safe Neighborhoods, a reinvigorated U.S. Department of Justice initiative to fight violent crime in communities through law enforcement partnerships. In Yellowstone County, those partnerships include the US Attorney’s Office, the Montana Attorney General, the County Attorney, federal, state and local law enforcement and state probation and parole. Together, these offices targeted meth traffickers, armed robbers and violent felons with illegal fire arms. Launched in April of 2018, the one-year results are telling:
• 170 federal prosecutions (does not include Yellowstone County prosecutions)
• 245 pounds of meth seized, equaling 887,880 doses of meth with a street value of $11 million