Expert Insights
I am a big supporter of making medication-assisted treatment more available to treat opioid addiction, and I think we are making great strides in Oakland through MAT programs. But, we also need to turn our attention to meth, in my opinion.
Major cities on the west coast in Oakland and Portland are experiencing major problems with meth use. It’s a cheap drug that is becoming more widely available and deadly, unknowingly to the people using it. While it can help people experiencing homelessness be more alert and survive extreme poverty, the supply is killing people because it is laced with fentanyl.
The media are not giving this issue enough attention because they want to pretend that it’s an issue for houseless people undeserving of attention. But, these people deserve care and treatment, and it is using resources. We’d be better placed, in my opinion, in providing more shelters, safe drug supplies, and fentanyl testing kits.
We’ll save more lives and get more people into addiction treatment, which will save our resources in the long run.
~ Olivia Pennelle
Resources
- California Department of Public Health. (2022). California Overdose Surveillance Dashboard, Alameda County Dashboard.
- Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services. (2021). Data Dashboard, SUD Demographics, Modality.
- Healthy Alameda County. (2022). Adults Who Binge Drink: Last 30 Days. City/Place: Alameda. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: PLACES. Conduent Healthy Communities Institute.
- National Center for PTSD. (2020). Treatment of Co-Occurring PTSD and Substance Use Disorder in VA. U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
