Crystal Meth is Making a Worrisome Comeback in Texas

While the news headlines are dominated by the opioid epidemic ravaging the United States, crystal meth is making a relatively silent, but deadly return. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the rate of overdose deaths for methamphetamine more than tripled from 2011 to 2016 and that number keeps growing to this day. This is partly due to the increase of cheap, highly potent methamphetamine coming over the US/Mexico border. With the national attention and focus on opioids by public health officials, politicians and government agencies, meth has quietly made a comeback in the US. This likely will not change course, without the proper resources and greater public awareness of the nation’s problems associated with crystal meth.

When drug overdoses began to take more American lives each year than gun violence or car accidents, the attention (and funding) from federal, state and local governments was largely focused on prescription and illicit opioids. The good news is that these efforts may actually be working.

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New provisional CDC data shows that drug overdose deaths fell significantly in 2018. This is the first decrease in decades. From the data, it appears that government efforts to prevent doctors from over-prescribing, while making it easier for first-responders to carry naloxone (a life-saving opioid-antagonist) undoubtedly have helped make a real difference in the fight to curb drug overdose deaths.

With prescription painkiller abuse on the decline, drug overdose deaths from crystal meth and fentanyl are the new problem in the United States.

Unlike illicit and prescription opiates, methamphetamine addiction does not have any FDA-approved medications to assist in treatment and rehabilitation efforts. Drugs like buprenorphine, or Suboxone are available to help ease the symptoms of opioid withdrawal. These evidence-based, medication-assisted treatments (MAT) can also help reduce the likelihood for relapse later in recovery. By blocking opioid receptors in the brain, MATs are valuable tools for addiction treatment programs. These medications have shown a verifiable success rate in patients who are struggling with an addiction to opiates.

Meth on the other hand, can cause equally painful and severe withdrawal symptoms. Currently there are no medications available to ease the withdrawal symptoms associated with a physical or psychological chemical dependency to methamphetamine. Detox and treatment for an addiction to methamphetamine can therefore be quite difficult for most patients.

Another problem with the relative lack of effective treatment options for people who become addicted to meth, the ease of access to meth is currently at an all time high. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s we witnessed a major crackdown on illegal meth labs operating within the United States. Meth labs were quite prevalent in Texas, especially in the Houston and San Antonio areas. These ranged from very small operations in an RV in the desert or in someone’s garage, to giant meth super labs in warehouses. Once the Federal Government began imposing stricter regulations on the sale and availability of pseudoephedrine (Sudafed), meth manufacturing labs pretty much became extinct in the US.

These days, the major Mexican drug cartels supply most of the crystal meth that is found in American cities and rural areas. This meth is much cheaper and more potent than ever before. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reports that the current price of meth is the lowest they’ve seen in years. The Mexican drug cartels, with new manufacturing techniques are also producing meth that’s more than 90 percent pure. This highly-potent crystal meth is creating an entirely new generation of addicts across the nation, at a level of epidemic proportions.

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For comparison, in 2017, 813 people died from an overdose on crystal meth, while 591 died from a heroin overdose in Texas.

One of the major complications with a substance use disorder is that the patient can be using multiple substances at any given time. Emergency responders have a difficult time with drug overdoses, because while the patient may be unconscious they have no idea how to treat the overdose. Many people who use crystal meth, are also using other substances as well. Some end up using methamphetamine in the morning and opioids at night, while trying to balance a ‘normal’ lifestyle through the use of various different drugs.

Many of the fatal overdose deaths involving methamphetamine can also be partially blamed on opioids. The extremely dangerous synthetic opiate, fentanyl has been frequently found in different batches of methamphetamine all over the country. This contamination may be intentional, or it may be the result of drug labs that produce and package different substances, where cross-contamination of different drugs may be entirely by accident.

What are the different drug rehab options for someone who is addicted to crystal meth?

The addiction treatment specialists at More Than Rehab have helped people all types of people, many of whom are struggling with an addiction to multiple substances. Our comprehensive drug rehabilitation program can help people with any type of addiction, while we can even address the underlying causes of substance abuse. We see the addiction is often just a symptom of another deeply-rooted mental health issue. This is called a dual-diagnosis and our staff is well-equipped to help people who exhibit both a substance use disorder, along with an underlying mental health issue.

Our approach to meth addiction treatment focuses on making the whole person healthy, mentally, physically and spiritually. Often an addiction is merely a symptom of unresolved trauma that has led the patient to self-medicate, while they attempt to drown-out their sorrows. Since no medication assisted treatment exists specifically to treat a meth addiction, our facility uses a robust combination of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), group therapy, contingency management and relapse prevention. A variety of other treatment techniques could be used in conjunction with these, depending on the patient’s own unique, individual needs.

If you, a family member, friend or loved one are struggling with any type of drug addiction, please give us a call as soon as possible. The longer you wait to get substance abuse treatment, the harder it can be to quit. Most people who die as a result of complications from meth abuse are from a brain hemorrhage, seizure, or a heart attack. This is especially true for older addicts, as their bodies are no longer equipped to handle a long-term episode of substance abuse.

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been using, or how much you have used in the past. More Than Rehab can help addiction at any level of severity. If this has been a wake-up call for either yourself, or your family, or friends, please talk to someone about the problem as soon as possible. Addiction won’t go away by itself. When you’re ready to change your life for the better, give us a call. We are available 24/7 to help you when you need it.

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Why is Meth so Hard to Quit?

Methamphetamine, speed, ice, or crystal meth is hard to quit simply because it is one of the most addictive drugs known to exist. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s methamphetamine was a major problem in Texas and across the whole nation because the ingredients were relatively easy to obtain at your local, street corner drug stores. The availability of ephedrine and other cold medications used to manufacture meth was at a high point. Then, between 2005-2006, the United States Federal Government began regulating the cold medicines used to manufacture meth. This created a decrease in meth production, coupled with a decrease in social indicators of misuse and abuse for the drug.

This decline in drug abuse indicators for meth continued until fairly recently. Methamphetamine has made quite the comeback, especially in southern and western states, partially due to the influence of the Mexican drug cartels. This new methamphetamine epidemic has been overshadowed by the constant media headlines of the opioid epidemic. While many politicians, governing agencies and the news media are focused on heroin and prescription pain killer overdose deaths, meth is silently killing thousands of Americans every year. Sadly, it appears only to be getting worse.

Methamphetamine is incredibly addictive, which makes meth hard to quit.

With the US crackdown on meth labs in the early 2000’s, we have a new precursor to methamphetamine manufacture known as phenyl-2-propanoe (P2P). This is what the Mexican drug cartels use in meth production that makes their versions so much more potent. The increase in meth potency from south of the border also makes the substance much, much more addictive. The intoxicating effects of Mexican meth is far greater that what we saw just a decade ago coming from American meth labs. The potency alone contributes to substance abuse and addiction at a far higher rate than we’ve seen in the past.

In Houston, Texas, the presence of methamphetamine is at an all time high, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Meth lab seizures in Texas are virtually non-existent, however as the majority of the drug seizures in the United States can be traced back to Mexico. Meth from Mexico is typically transported to the US in liquid form. The liquid methamphetamine is smuggled into the US in modified gas tanks. This liquid meth is then converted into its typical crystal form at conversion labs here in the US. This is commonly a much more potent form of the drug than we’ve seen in the past. Lab testing in 2007 showed an average meth purity level of 39 percent. Today, meth found on the streets in the US typically tests around a level of 93 percent purity.

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The greater availability and increased potency of meth, means more abuse and more drug overdoses.

Stimulant overdoses from cocaine and meth are the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the state of Texas. Fentanyl overdose deaths are also spiking currently and many attribute this to the increase in stimulant overdoses. This is somewhat ironic, as fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, which is quite the opposite of a stimulant. However, drug dealers in Texas will order the drug from China and mix it in with their supply of cocaine, methamphetamine or counterfeit prescription pills. No one is completely certain as to why drug dealers mix fentanyl with drugs that are supposed to have the exact opposite effect, but it may be to increase the perceived potency of their drugs, or it might even be entirely accidental. Some drug labs or pill mills (which Houston is notoriously known for), may manufacture or cut different drugs with the same lab equipment, which can lead to unintentional cross-contamination of drugs. Fentanyl is so deadly that just a dose the size of 3 grains of salt is enough to kill an average human being.

Many who abuse methamphetamine are also known to use other substances as well. The Chicago Tribune recently ran a story about dual addiction, titled: “Meth in the morning, heroin at night”. Across the nation, meth use is on the rise and many experts are saying the opioid epidemic has given crystal meth a resurgence. Opioid users who admit to using meth as well has gone up from 19% in 2011 to 34% in 2018. This evidence suggests that as doctors began to cut back on writing prescriptions for opioids, that many users began to seek street drugs like meth and heroin.

For others, methamphetamine and opioids can offer a type of synergistic high. The two types of drugs in combination can sort of balance each other out, making it seem that the user is able to function normally. In the past, the term “speedball” (which was a mix of heroin and cocaine) was used to describe the balancing of two, seemingly opposite drugs. This combination has been deadly, killing many people, including notable celebrities such as: John Belushi, Chris Farley, Ken Caminiti, Mitch Hedberg, Chris Kelly and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

In theory, the meth combats the opioid’s drowsiness, while the opioid balances out the erratic, spastic “tweakiness” of the methamphetamine. Many people who abuse any type of drug end up “chasing the dragon” trying to feel “normal” again. For some people, their “normal” is constantly changing. This happens as their body’s tolerance to the drugs they’re using fluctuates, or the potency or types of drugs they are currently using can change rapidly as well. This is a dangerous balancing act, one that has led many people to dangerous and deadly consequences.

Meth is a drug that is very hard to quit. The crisis at the US-Mexico border has helped create a meth-overdose epidemic.

While the opioid crisis appears to be slowing-down, a new meth-fueled crisis is poised to take its place. It is estimated that 774,000 Americans used methamphetamine in 2017. When US lawmakers cracked-down on the manufacture of meth in the mid-2000’s, it worked. That is, until the Mexican drug cartels filled-in the gap. Now meth is available in virtually every community across the United States. While it is extremely important to keep focusing efforts on combating the opioid epidemic, we should be looking at ways to help people who need treatment for an addiction. This act alone would cut down on the demand for these dangerous drugs, which is the first step towards truly combating the problem.

If you or someone you know needs help with a substance abuse problem, please don’t hesitate to call us at More Than Rehab. We are available 24/7 to help or your loved one create the foundation to live a better life. We offer the best in evidence-based addiction treatment in the greater Houston area. Please don’t wait any longer, call us right away:

(888) 249-2191

Can You Afford Drug Rehabilitation?

If there were two primary obstacles to attending addiction treatment, they would most likely be a fear of asking for help and the doubt that they could even afford drug rehabilitation. Addiction treatment can be prohibitively expensive for many people who struggle with addiction, so how can you find out if you’re eligible to receive help when you’re ready for it? Millions of Americans still cannot afford health insurance, even with the passage of the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare”. While the well-intentioned government mandate that all health insurance plans available on the open exchange must cover mental health (including addiction treatment), there are still a lot of people who can’t afford health insurance to begin with.

Most people who have a substance use disorder may not even realize that addiction treatment might be covered by a health insurance plan they currently hold. This leaves the average person truly unaware of the costs associated with addiction treatment and drug rehab in Texas, and across the nation. Addiction treatment costs widely vary too, depending on the type of substance you’re addicted to, the level of addiction and the types of treatment you need to receive.

Scientific, evidence-based approaches to drug rehabilitation are likely the most cost-effective versions of care, as they offer a proven success rate, regardless of age, gender and other demographics. These methods of rehabilitation can literally be life-saving so it is difficult to put an accurate price tag on rehabilitation. A lot of this comes from the perspective of the money you’ll be saving, taken for granted that the rehab works.

Addiction to drugs can be very expensive, let alone costing you your life...

Say you have a major cocaine addiction, the typical addict can spend anywhere from $200-$1,000 a day on the drug during a heavy binge. This equates anywhere from $6,000, up to $30,000 a month for the simple maintenance of your coke habit. If rehabilitation works, just think of the money you could actually save in the long run. This is just one extreme example, but the bottom line is your livelihood and the chance to spend the rest of your life doing things with your family and close friends, versus chasing a high from a drug that will ultimately only ruin your life.

The different types of drug rehab and their associated average cost in Texas.

There are many different types of drug rehabilitation and different levels of care with each option and for each individual’s unique needs. Let’s break down the options below.

Detox: a full-medical detox is commonly the first step of a longer, more in-depth alcohol or drug rehabilitation. Some patients will only receive the detox part of rehab, because they think that’s all they’ll need. Detox will help you get off of the drugs or alcohol in a safe, medically monitored way. Some addictions have severe withdrawal symptoms that in some cases can be deadly. In the case of opiates, alcohol and benzodiazepines, quitting cold-turkey can have deadly consequences. Seizures, heart palpitations and delirium tremens could all possibly result in death. Again, the cost will vary depending on the severity of the chemical dependency and the type of substance you are detoxing from. Typically a medical detox at an outpatient clinic will run anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 dollars.

Inpatient drug rehab: Most inpatient drug rehabilitation centers will require a minimum 30 day stay. Some require longer stays with a 90 day program. Depending on the area, and types of services provided the typical cost of inpatient drug rehab will range anywhere from $6,000 to $20,000 or more per month. Some rehab centers are quite luxurious, offering amenities that go far beyond what is required to quit using drugs or alcohol. These “destination rehabs” can go well beyond $20,000 per month and are typically reserved for movie stars and highly-paid CEO’s.

Outpatient addiction treatment: An outpatient treatment program can be much less expensive than a stay at an inpatient facility. Outpatient drug rehab programs usually comprise of support groups and individual therapy sessions, completed daily and you can typically attend these programs around your busy school or work schedules. Outpatient programs can be good enough for a mild addiction, but it could end up taking much longer than a stay at an inpatient facility. Outpatient drug rehab programs typically run around $5,000 for a three-month program.

A note about medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and evidence-based drug rehab.

An evidence-based approach to addiction treatment typically offers the highest success rates of any type of drug rehabilitation. For a patient who is addicted to alcohol or opiates like painkillers or heroin, medication may be beneficial to help you quit using. These medications, like buprenorphine, Suboxone or methadone are beneficial to help ease the painful, early withdrawal symptoms.

Evidence based methods of treatment show greater success rates when combined with individual and group therapy sessions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, 12 step program integration and other supporting treatment options. Some medications will be taken for up to 12 months and the yearly cost of these medications will be around $5,000 per year.

How do I pay for addiction treatment? How Can We Afford Drug Rehabilitation?

Most people will pay for a drug rehabilitation program with their insurance coverage. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as “Obamacare” health insurance plans on the exchange will pay anywhere from 60-90% of the cost of drug rehabilitation program. This has been an important step to fighting the nations current drug overdose and opioid epidemic. Now more people have access to life-saving drug rehab services than ever before. If you are struggling with addiction and need treatment, you should consider looking into your health insurance coverage options.

If you cannot afford drug rehabilitation, some people will take out personal loans to pay for their addiction treatment. Attaining sobriety and giving yourself the amount of care you deserve is worth the money. You can think of rehab as an investment into making a better life for yourself, your family and your friends. Think of the alternative without attending rehab, typically you can either A) end up in jail, or B) continue your substance abuse and possibly die from a drug overdose. Sobriety is worth it and while it may seem difficult, sobriety is very much an attainable goal.

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With so many different options for you to get help, it is possible for almost everyone to get the addiction treatment they need. If for some reason, none of these options are a possibility for you or your loved one, there are many state-funded programs available to you. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services has a searchable database of low-cost rehab programs on their website: https://dshs.texas.gov/sa-search/. But do keep in mind that many of these government run programs will have long waiting lists, with robust eligibility requirements.

If you need help right away please don’t hesitate to give us a call at More Than Rehab. We strive to offer the best quality addiction treatment programs in the Houston, Texas area, at a low cost to our clients. We never want cost to prohibit you from getting the help you need. In many cases, we can find a way to offer care at little to no cost for you out of pocket. Please call us anytime, we are available 24/7 to take your call: