![]() ![]() ![]() But the department does acknowledge there’s an increase in meth’s prevalence in the county in recent years. A basic search for “methamphetamine” yields a single article about a fentanyl overdose from January 2020. The Alameda County Public Health Department has made strides in its initiatives to reduce the harm caused by opioids, but its website is virtually devoid of materials on meth. And experts say that the public health system is in many ways playing catchup to the problem. Credit: Amir Azizĭespite this reality, the meth crisis is being given far less attention in the media than the harms caused by fentanyl. Monish Ullal helps treat patients at Highland Hospital’s BRIDGE Clinic. Even unadulterated meth is more potent than ever and can cause behavioral health issues or psychosis at an astonishing rate. Across the state, the supply is laced with fentanyl, causing deadly overdoses. “If you’re a person who is living on the streets, every time you fall asleep, you risk being robbed, assaulted, or killed,” said Hawthorne.īut today’s meth is more dangerous than it was a decade ago. For people experiencing homelessness, the stimulating effects of meth can help them survive the challenging realities of living unhoused. “Meth helps people stay awake, navigate pain, have less feelings of hunger, and stay safe on the streets,” said Hawthorne, who works as an equity and harm reduction project manager at CA Bridge, a state-wide addiction treatment and hospital training program based in Oakland that grew out of the work done at Highland. Charles Hawthorne, who has worked in harm reduction for seven years as an educator and program manager, runs training sessions for addiction professionals that emphasize how substances, including meth, have utility for the people that use them. “It’s not an opioid, but it has seen increasing mortality, hospital visits, and emergency department visits associated with its use.”īecause of the drug’s low cost and stimulating effects, meth usage is especially prevalent in Oakland’s unhoused population. “People have been using meth for a while, including in the East Bay, but it has become even more common,” he said, painting a picture of how Oakland’s drug scene has changed over time. He said there is an unmet need for substance use disorder treatment across the country.ĭuring his years at Highland, Anderson has seen meth become more prevalent and dangerous in ways that mirror the trajectory of the opioid crisis. Originally from the Midwest, Anderson specializes in addiction medicine. Erik Anderson, an emergency medicine physician at Oakland’s Highland Hospital, described fentanyl and meth as by far the most harmful illicit drugs impacting Oakland today. As a result, the number of people who use meth has soared, making the drug a serious public health problem.ĭr. Over the past five years, meth has become more available, potent, and cheap than ever before. But unlike fentanyl and other opioids, which have buprenorphine as a medicated treatment option, there isn’t yet a drug on the market that can treat patients’ meth addictions. In both its quantity on the streets and the number of people who die from using it, meth comes second only to opioids (including fentanyl and heroin) in Alameda County. Methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant drug, is on the rise in Oakland. ![]() ![]() “It really helps with the cravings,” says the patient, who has been clean for 10 months. ![]()
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