Addiction Treatment Funding to be Expanded in Maryland to Decrease Opioid Overdose

Los Angeles, California -

State spending on addiction treatment and substance abuse prevention in Maryland will be increased in order to escalate the efforts against the current opioid epidemic. This comes in light of the increasing death toll from opioid overdoses in the state.

According to Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford, the administration’s budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins July 1 earmarks $248 million for substance abuse services. This is a 20 percent increase from the previous budget. Rutherford announced during an event in Baltimore that the plan involves increasing capital spending in order to make room for more treatment beds across the state.

“The epidemic transcends every demographic,” Rutherford said to the people gathered at Helping Up Mission, a shelter that treats more than 500 men in recovery. “We will continue to fight against the opioid epidemic.”

Expanding Therapeutic Treatment and Medication-Assisted Programs is essential. In addition to these budget plans, the Maryland administration also announced a five-year $378 million plan to build a therapeutic treatment center attached to the state-run Baltimore jail. The goal of the new facility is to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment services to non-violent offenders as they enter jail.

The spending plan still needs to be approved by the General Assembly. The plan will also increase funding to county jails that want to focus on medication-based opioid addiction treatment programs.

It is worth noting that the plan does not call for using the same medications such as methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone in state prisons. Experts agree that such treatment would likely have a significant effect in fighting addiction. It is possible that medication-assisted treatment can reduce statewide overdose deaths, should it be implemented on a wider scale.

During the first half of 2018, Maryland recorded 1,185 opioid-related overdose deaths. This marks a 15 percent increase from the same period back in 2017. It only goes to show that the opioid crisis is still worsening, and that addiction treatment should be approached just like any other medical condition.

The midyear figure for 2018 is the most recent state health department has tallied. But if deaths continue at a similar pace, fatalities may surpass 2017’s record of 2,009 deaths. This also ranks Maryland as one of the hardest-hit states in the US.

In 2017, the US recorded 48,000 opioid overdose deaths.

Overdose deaths from heroin and prescription opioids have declined. However, the emergence of deadly Fentanyl has offset a significant portion of those gains. “As the crisis has evolved so has our response,” Rutherford said.

Del. Erek Barron, a Prince George County Democrat, has stated his disappointment over the administration’s spending plan, citing the fact that it does not call for allowing medication-assisted treatment in state prisons. Barron, therefore, plans to introduce a bill within the next week that will mandate such a program in Maryland’s prisons. “That’s where we need to be if we’re serious about this opioid crisis,” Barron said.

Recent evidence has shown that offering medication treatment to addicted individuals in prison can reduce state overdose deaths overall.

Rhode Island, for example, has had one of the worst per-capita rates of overdose deaths. In 2016, the state began the first and only program in the US wherein all inmates are screened for opioid use and given medications for addiction treatment, including buprenorphine.

Overdose deaths among people leaving prison dropped 61 percent, according to a Brown University study.

Addiction experts say that such medications can help inmates with proven opioid addiction to prevent overdose-related death. Prisoners who do not receive help are released with little tolerance, and once they return to their normal addictive habits, they quickly take too much and die.

Addiction experts say providing such medications to inmates with proven opioid addictions helps prevent overdose deaths. Prisoners who get no help are released with little tolerance, return to their normal levels of using drugs and can quickly take too much and die.

Rutherford agrees that people struggling with addiction in local jails desperately need the medication and treatment before they are released.

If someone in the family is struggling with addiction, look for a drug rehab facility nearby and learn more about the treatment process. It may involve a combination of medical detox and behavioral therapy, but every individual is different. A comprehensive and personalized treatment will have to be created based on the patient’s needs. Get started on the road to recovery today with Rehab Near Me.