Tulsa drug rehab center expanding as meth overdoses skyrocket

While health officials have been grappling with Oklahoma’s opioid crisis, methamphetamine has quietly made a comeback with new, extremely potent doses imported from China and other countries, prompting a Tulsa treatment center to ramp up services.

12&12 recently became the state’s first facility to specifically treat methamphetamine addiction with a full spectrum of services, ranging from detoxification to outpatient to long-term residential care, according to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

The state has rightly concentrated on opioid addiction, “which is obviously a real crisis,” 12&12 Executive Director Bryan Day told the Tulsa World. But last year, health data began to reveal a startling trend with meth, he said.

Meth-related deaths more than doubled in just four years, killing 339 people statewide in 2018, the most recent year with complete data, according to the state Mental Health Department. And methamphetamine, not opioids, now ranks as the No. 1 drug of choice among patients seeking help in Oklahoma.

To combat the growing problem, 12&12 added four detox beds specifically for meth addicts while also adding 30 beds — half for women and half for men — for long-term inpatient rehab specifically for meth addicts.

Meth rehab can take as long as 90 days, three times longer than the average 12&12 patient stays at the facility, Day said.

Methamphetamine has traditionally been associated with homemade doses, but much of it now comes from overseas in a much stronger form, Day said.

To pay for the new services, 12&12 will use money from a larger funding package from the state Mental Health Department, officials said. Technically, that money will run out June 30, when the facility will need to secure a longer-term source of funding, officials said.

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