A legislative hearing often can elicit information that lawmakers don’t want — but need — to hear.
And that’s exactly what happened last week, when the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery solicited feedback on the use of stimulants and the state’s preparedness to respond.
And what they learned from a bevy of experts raised the ante in the fight against substance abuse: The use of stimulants, particularly methamphetamines, has steadily risen without a system in place to deal with their deleterious effects.
A year-plus of dealing with a coronavirus pandemic may have diverted our attention, but the opioid crisis has not gone away.
The state Department of Public Health previously reported that the number of fatal opioid overdoses in the first nine months of 2020 exceeded those in the same time period in 2019.
However, not every overdose death can be blamed on opioids; an increasing number of fatalities have been linked to stimulants or the mixing of the two types of narcotics.
“These issues are now more pronounced than ever,” said Rep. Adrian Madaro, an East Boston Democrat and the co-chair of the committee along with Sen. Julian Cyr, (D-Truro).
But fentanyl unquestionably remains the main driver of fatal overdoses in Massachusetts.
Public Health Commissioner Dr. Monica Bharel said the powerful synthetic opioid showed up in 93% of toxicology screens for overdose deaths in the first six months of 2020, far exceeding any other illegal substance.
And increasingly fentanyl has been found in non-opiate narcotics, like cocaine and meth, a sign of their growing popularity.
The use of meth is also more prevalent among gay and bisexual men, according to researchers, and can lead to spikes in HIV and other health issues if not addressed.
Cocaine and crack seizures have actually declined in the region, but methamphetamine seizures by law enforcement have climbed between 1,700 and 2,900%.
John Eadie, project coordinator for the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas programs, said researchers use seizure data to track supplies of a particular drug, which has been shown to have a very close correlation with overdose deaths in a particular region.
While overdose data can lag up to 18 months, Eadie said seizure data can be obtained through the local HIDTA office much more quickly and be used to warn hospitals and first responders about potential spikes in usage.
He encouraged Massachusetts to set up a system with the Northeast HIDTA to track seizures as Vermont is already doing.
Other issues flagged for legislators included training for police, medical technicians and other public-safety personnel and treatment programming designed for stimulant users.
Deirdre Calvert, director of the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services at the Department of Public Health, told the committee that many state substance-use treatment programs have been designed to address alcohol or opioid addictions, and may not be appropriate for people detoxing from a stimulant.
Calvert said the federal government recently approved using substance-treatment funding for stimulants as well as opioids, which will make a difference. She said the state hoped to expand the use of fentanyl strips for users of stimulants to detect the presence of the lethal opioid.
That legislative panel probably received more than it bargained for, but sounding the alarm about the next illegal drug of choice constitutes a sobering heads-up for all stakeholders in this struggle.
