Meth dominates drug use in San Mateo County

According to the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force and Coroner’s Office reports, methamphetamine use dominates the landscape of drug use in the county. In 2019, 28% of drug overdose deaths in San Mateo County involved methamphetamine.

The accessibility of fentanyl and opioids also remains to be very prevalent.

“It feels like we’re seeing it in every corner. Young folks, older folks, it’s very pervasive,” Fullerton said. “It’s a tough time to turn right now.”

For the last six years, Fullerton has worked with a team that serves those with alcohol and opioid use disorder, helping people come off of opioids and engage in long-term recovery treatment with the use of medications that help them adjust or reset brain chemistry. They work in the emergency department where individuals are brought in by ambulance, intoxicated or needing help. They are then linked to or at least offered treatment services.

“In the last three years, our numbers with opioid use disorders, the referrals we’ve seen, has tripled just for this team,” she said.

She said contingency management, using financial rewards as incentive to help those struggling with drug addiction, has proven to be effective in treating those with methamphetamine addiction.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced legislation for contingency management to address the increase in meth usage and overdose deaths, which was passed in April of this year. The legislation expands substance use disorder treatment options covered under Medi-Cal, requiring Medi-Cal to pay for contingency management.

“Contingency management is an effective and essential tool in treating meth addiction — particularly given the lack of effective medical interventions — and we must expand access to it. This is a science-based approach to treating meth addiction, and it’s time for California to embrace it,” Wiener said in a statement.

There is a federal cap at $75 for incentive payments and contingency payments for individuals which Fullerton said is not enough incentive to help somebody on a long-term road to recovery, especially from the strong addiction of methamphetamine.

“I think having a longer term or kind of a more comprehensive approach to how we can roll out contingency management using that legislation, which is a step forward, but I think how we end up ultimately rolling it out will dictate the success of it,” she said.

When people were isolated during the pandemic, it affected those with mental health issues and addiction, losing the connection to support networks and having less accessibility to health care. And stigma also continues to be a large issue and significant barrier when it comes to people accessing help, receiving help and offering help to those struggling with addiction, Fullerton said.

The team of behavioral health case managers has shown over the last five years to reduce patient population by nearly 50 percent for emergency department visits. And those who are coming to the emergency department, they’re admitted to the inpatient unit about 80 percent less, she said.

“I think with continued support for the program, continued advocacy, I would feel really hopeful that we could maybe see this replicated in other settings,” she said.

julia@smdailyjournal.com

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