In continuing coverage of concerns over the drug use epidemic facing Minnesota, KDWA has learned that the Center for Rural Policy and Development has published a report, with a reminder that methamphetamines are still the drug of choice in rural Minnesota, where usage is putting a serious strain on local government, health care services, law enforcement, and families. According to a press release issued on Wednesday, while society has been mobilizing against opioids over the last couple of years, in rural Minnesota methamphetamines have come surging back from a low point in 2009.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services tracks treatment admissions approved by county social services and also records the primary substance being used at the time of admission. Admissions for treatment of meth addictions have been on a climb in Greater Minnesota, and the numbers are following suit in the Twin Cities. In 2016, 7,664 people in Greater Minnesota sought out treatment for meth addiction, a 25 percent increase over the year before and almost twice as many as in the Twin Cities. Opioids remain the biggest killer among drugs, but over the last ten years treatment admissions for methamphetamines in Greater Minnesota have skyrocketed compared to opioids.
