Kicking the habit: Heroin addicts testing social services net

Area drug detox, counseling and treatment centers are expanding to deal with Dane County's growing number of heroin addicts, especially young people, but some still can't meet the need.

"Where heroin used to be maybe 5 to 10 percent (of those treated), now it's probably closer to 50 percent," said Mike Florek, founder of Tellurian, a nonprofit organization that offers in- and out-patient treatment for about 300 alcohol and drug abusers and people suffering from mental health problems. "We just do not have the capacity to deal with sheer numbers. We could fill detox with heroin."

Tami Bahr, assistant director for Connections Counseling in Madison, said five years ago the center employed six therapists. It now has 15, largely because of the dramatic increase in opiate users, including heroin addicts, seeking treatment. The program has added a counseling session that focuses on opiate addiction.

Experts such as Bahr echo what law enforcement officials say about heroin users: The fastest growing group seeking opiate treatment are people ages 18 to 25 who often start their descent into drug use by abusing prescription painkillers.

They're like a 22-year-old Dane County woman, who became hooked on OxyContin, a prescription painkiller, at age 17. She moved on to heroin last year because it was cheaper and is now trying to stay off illegal drugs altogether.

When on drugs, the woman robbed a grocery store for money, had her license suspended for driving under the influence and gave her son to his grandparents to raise.

"It will carry you away to the point where it's just every little bit of money you get you blow it," she said of heroin.

The State Journal agreed not to identify the woman to protect her identity as she tries to reclaim her life.

Young and vulnerable

“Teens and young adults are particularly vulnerable to the effects of heroin. It stunts their developing brains, and they can't fully understand the drug's potency, increasing the chances of an overdose, Bahr said.”

Young heroin users are also egocentric and impulsive, Florek said.

"One day they are crying and begging for treatment," he said. "Two days later they're running out the back door with another young addict."

And sometimes users enroll in detox just to lower their tolerance level and make their habit cheaper, he said.

The new cohort of young, immature heroin abusers has prompted Tellurian to bring in pain and addiction experts to train staff on how to better treat them.

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz also has formed a group of officials to fight the growing problem. Specific projects include a county or regional prescription-drug tracking program that would identify people who have had multiple or recent opiate prescriptions; more accessible treatment programs; and an educational campaign on how to dispose of prescription medication.

Methadone as substitute

Methadone, a drug that suppresses a person's craving for opiates, is the most widely used medication to treat heroin and opiate addicts.

Statewide, there are 13 methadone clinics serving about 3,000 patients. In Dane County, two Madison clinics serve between 500 and 600 patients.

Deborah Powers, who regulates methadone clinics for the state, said because of the increase in patients - almost double since 2005 - the state is considering limits on how long people can be in treatment. The state also continues to urge methadone treatment programs to provide more counseling in an effort to reduce a need for re-admission, she said.

"Patients have to start working on why they became addicted in the first place," she said. "The goal is to help them move on with their lives."

Madison's East Side methadone clinic has 335 people enrolled in treatment this year - an increase of about 16 percent since 2006.

"People are coming out of the woodwork," said Tanya Bakker, director of Madison Health Services on the city's East Side.

Over the last five years, the clinic has increased the amount of counseling accompanying methadone treatment. New patients must take all but one of the seven liquid medication doses per week in front of a nurse. They also get counseling once a week and group counseling when beginning treatment. As patients progress in their recovery, they're allowed to take more doses home.

Clean for now

The 22-year-old woman said she mostly snorted heroin and injected it, at most, 10 times. She's been off heroin for about a month, but she still has an old needle and cooker in her room, to remind her of what she used to do.

She said she misses the drug but is glad she is no longer using it.

"I have not yet relapsed."

 

GENA KITTNER for WSJ | Posted: Saturday, May 1, 2010 3:00 pm

Read the complete article from The Wisconsin State Journal Special Report