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Recovery in the News
Mass. Senate weighs facilities for heroin, OxyContin addicts
Steve LeBlanc
Associated Press
May 19, 2008
The Massachusetts Senate is weighing a $5 million plan to create two new treatment facilities for those addicted to heroin, OxyContin and other opiates who are also facing jail.
The goal of the initiative, included in the Senate version of the state budget, is to help those addicted to the drugs kick the habit before they succumb to a fatal dose.
Sen. Steven Tolman is pushing the plan, saying the state needs to do more to reverse the spike in overdoses and deaths blamed on opiate addiction.
The number of opiate-related deaths nearly doubled in Massachusetts from 363 in 2000 to 637 in 2006, according to the Department of Public Health. In the past decade the number of non-fatal overdoses has soared from 8,000 in 1996 to more than 18,000 in 2005.
Tolman said his office routinely gets calls from individuals or family members asking for help finding longer-term treatment facilities.
"This is an epidemic," said Tolman, D-Boston. "We have all these kids and young adults who get hooked on the OxyContin and heroin, but the treatment infrastructure we have is mostly for alcohol."
The initiative would set aside $5 million to create two expanded secure treatment centers in the state, each with 60 beds. The centers would give those addicted to the drugs who are facing jail for smaller crimes the option of seeking treatment for up to 90 days.
Any deal would have to be approved by the local district attorney.
The budget also includes language establishing a special commission to investigate and study the impact of the OxyContin and heroin epidemic and make additional recommendations.
New England and Massachusetts have been especially hard hit by the drugs, according to Michael Botticelli, director of the health department's Bureau of Substance Abuse.
"While other parts of the country have a huge methamphetamine problem, we see heroin," said Botticelli.
The state has already taken some initiatives to stem the surge in heroin and OxyContin-related deaths, including training those addicted and their family members to administer a nasal drug called Narcan designed to immediately reverse the effects of an overdose.
More than 400 people in Massachusetts have been trained and given Narcan kits including two doses of the drug. Botticelli says the state has reports of at least 47 instances when the drug was used to pull an addict out of what could have been a fatal overdose.
"Our first goal obviously is to get people into treatment, but we want to keep people alive long enough to get them into treatment," said Botticelli, who also supports Tolman's call for longer-term secure treatment facilities.
Maryanne Frangules also backs the plan, but said the state should consider doing even more to help those trying to make the transition from addiction back into society. Frangules is the executive director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery.
"If a person has been using for a long time, it's an investment to pay for a longer length of time so they can build themselves up to a healthier psychological state," she said.
Frangules was critical of what she called the push by insurers for shorter detox stays, some as little as three days. She said the so-called "spin dry" approach may help flush a drug out of the system, but does little to reverse the psychological dependence.
What's needed is better residential settings and job training programs to help former addicts stay clean, she said.
"We've seen so many people go out and relapse again, and they are young people," she said. "You really need to have extended time because people are not capable of making healthy decisions at that time."
Gov. Deval Patrick also said the state needs to do more to reverse the increase in overdoses and deaths - but hasn't had a chance to study the senate proposal.
"We've got a very, very serious problem with opiate addiction in the commonwealth and I'm very concerned about it," he said Monday. "Obviously I have to look at it in the context of the whole budget."
The Senate is set to begin debate on the budget on Wednesday.
© 2008 The Associated Press