Pubdate: Wed, 29 Dec 2004
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
Copyright: 2004 Lexington Herald-Leader
Contact:  http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240
Author: Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

STATE SYSTEM FOUND TO WORK IN TREATING METH ADDICTION

BOWLING GREEN - Studies have found that Kentucky's publicly funded
system of drug and alcohol treatment is effective in helping
methamphetamine abusers put down the powerfully addictive drug.

Advocates say the state should dedicate more money for the
programs.

The University of Kentucky's Center on Drug and Alcohol Research
studies of the past two years found that treatment helps significant
numbers of addicts stop abusing all drugs, find full-time jobs and
stay out of trouble. The studies also show that the treatment programs
save the state money by cutting prosecution costs.

"Hey, this stuff works," said Robert Walker, project director for the
study. "I couldn't tell you the number of studies that have shown
positive outcomes and cost savings."

The most recent study, released in October, found that 60 percent of
people surveyed had stayed off illegal drugs; 64 percent abstained
from alcohol; full-time employment increased by 45 percent; and
arrests were cut by 51 percent.

Further, it found that the state gained $100 million by spending $25
million on treatment instead of prosecuting and jailing offenders. The
UK studies examined 1,730 people who agreed to follow-up interviews
after entering treatment during a 12-month period in 2000 and 2001-2002.

Use of methamphetamine is soaring in the Midwest and South, especially
in rural areas. It is a highly addictive stimulant that can be
snorted, smoked or injected.

Felecia Peacock, a recovering addict, remembered the grip meth had on
her.

"It's euphoric," she said. "You stay up for hours. There's no eating.
There's no sleeping."

But now, Peacock, 32, works at the Bowling Green halfway house where
she stayed after completing a 28-day treatment program at a center in
Louisville. She said she no longer wakes up needing meth to start the
day.

"I don't think about getting high," she said. "I don't have a daily
desire to use."

Advocates of the treatment programs say Kentucky needs to spend at
least $50 million more on mental-health and substance-abuse treatment.

Walker said Kentucky spends $25 million a year -- mostly federal money
- -- on programs to treat drug and alcohol abuse. The state ranks 44th
in the nation in that spending category.

Martin Wesley, executive director of Park Place, a community
mental-health treatment center in Bowling Green, said meth users
respond well to treatment.

"They're sick of it," he said of the problems meth brings to users.
But the drug "is spreading like wildfire" and more slots are needed
for treatment, he said.

"We're just maxed out," Wesley said.

Wesley and others said the state should take advantage of a Medicaid
provision that would allow Kentucky to provide more treatment through
70 percent in federal matching funds for the 30 percent in state money.

The UK study found people in residential treatment were more likely to
stay clean.

For example, people who reported using illegal drugs when they entered
residential treatment reported a 56 percent drop in illegal drug use
afterward. People who got outpatient treatment reported an 18 percent
reduction in illegal drug use after treatment.

Of the 26,300 people treated for substance abuse through the state's
regional mental-health system, about 30 percent received residential
treatment, according to the UK study.

Walker said residential treatment offers a more intense, structured
program supervised by professionals with medical training. But such
programs are far more costly, about $150 a day per person.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin