Meth-related admissions higher than opioids at Windsor-Essex treatment centres

Treatment and rehabilitation facilities across southwestern Ontario are seeing an increase in patients admitted for meth addiction.

At Westover Treatment Centre in Thamesville, more than 35 per cent of its patients can be connected to meth.

Executive director Ron Elliott said in comparison, patients with opiate dependencies account for approximately 21 per cent of admissions. 

At Windsor's House of Sophrosyne — a treatment facility known for its women-only residence program — meth accounts for the second-highest number of admissions.

According to House of Sophrosyne executive director Karen Waddell, 29 per cent of patients are admitted for meth-related conditions. 

At Sophrosyne, alcohol accounts for the highest number of admissions — approximately 46 per cent — while cocaine and opioids admissions are both below 30 per cent.

Nicole Wilson, a supportive housing caseworker at the House of Sophrosyne said she first started noticing a rise in incidents of meth addiction in 2018. 

"I personally noticed a huge spike in meth use and it trickled down into the tenancies," said Wilson. "It has a horrific effect on people's dwellings, because it's just a substance that messes with their minds."

Wilson believes meth addiction will continue to increase, owing to the drug's long-lasting effects and cheap cost. 

"In their minds, when their first drug of choice was opioids, they would use [maybe] four times a day to keep it up, because [opioids don't] have a long shelf life and it's costly," said Wilson. "And then when that becomes unmanageable,  I feel as though they start turning toward meth, where you can pay $10 and be high for four hours."

Shontelle Millender, a caring connections caseworker at the House of Sophrosyne, echoed Wilson's comments about the drug's lower price and longer-lasting effects.

"There's a lot of women that are switching their addiction from opiates to crystal meth, just because it's cheaper, it lasts longer and they're able to maintain that substance a lot longer in their situation," said Millender, adding that users who move from opiates to meth then end up using both drugs. 

Recovery from meth addiction isn't impossible, according to Wilson.

"It's just a trickier beast to tackle."

Dr. Raj Basker, chief of the mental health department with Windsor Regional Hospital agreed.

"It's a huge challenge," said Basker. "When people are ready to seek help, we need to provide those resources as quickly as possible."

Basker said that kind of help is something they can't provide in the hospital and rely on services like House of Sophrosyne to "catch them when they're ready."

Listen to Dr. Raj Basker chat with Windsor Morning's Tony Doucette about the rise of meth use. 

Find more Windsor Morning interviews here.