Witnesses at an interim study on Monday wanted state lawmakers to increase access to medication-assisted addiction treatment.
The practice can greatly boost rates of successful addiction recovery, especially when used in combination with counseling.
Oklahoma County Judge Kenneth Stoner made a public safety case for medication-assisted. He said substance abuse is a relevant factor in 75% of their criminal cases.
"If you do not address the underlying issues that got them to the courthouse, they’re coming back. And they’re going to come back and they’re going to come back, either until they go to prison — and when they go to prison, if it’s not addressed, they’ll come back again," Stoner said.
Stoner said substance abuse is also involved in 50 percent of Oklahoma County family court cases and 83% of cases with kids going into state custody.
Witnesses said funding for medication-assisted treatment is in short supply, leaving many fewer openings than are needed. Some would like to see broader use of the three medications approved approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Center for Therapeutic Interventions CEO Janet Cizek said the Tulsa clinic learned one that curbs alcohol and opioid cravings is effective for meth, too, but that’s an off-label use that could bring legal trouble.
"If they’re going to work on that area of the brain, it’s probably not as important of what substance they’re addicted to or dependent on. It’s the areas of the brain, it’s a brain disease," Cizek said.
Dr. Mark Boomer said part of the reason medication-assisted treatment is underused may be health care providers haven’t done as much as they should with it in hospital settings.
"For example, you know exactly when to give a blood thinner if you have heart disease or when to give cholesterol medicines if your cholesterol is high, but we have no idea when the right time to start this program would be. There’s no evidence. There’s no data," Boomer said.
Boomer says the state could be a leader in medication-assisted addiction treatment but needs grants to study it.
