BILLINGS — Methamphetamine use is on the rise in Billings, contributing to about half of the crimes prosecuted in the city and putting a strain on law enforcement, probation staff and drug treatment courts, according to speakers at a forum on meth in Billings.
The Montana Meth Project and Billings Gazette Communications sponsored a panel discussion Monday to talk about the increased use of the addictive stimulant and strategies to reduce it.
“It’s making a huge, huge comeback,” said Rod Ostermiller, chief deputy for the U.S. Marshal Service in Montana.
Montana Meth Project executive director Amy Rue said the group needs to expand its anti-meth message aimed at teens, and target adults as well.
The amount of meth seized through drug task force investigations doubled last year, Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito said. And the meth is no longer home-cooked, but of more pure quality being brought in from California and Mexico.
Most of those prosecuted by the county for meth possession are put on probation, Twito said, straining probation staffs and drug treatment courts.
District Judge Mary Jane Kinsely said communities cannot incarcerate themselves out of the meth problem. Investment in prevention and treatment programs is needed.
Oil companies operating in the Bakken oil fields also worry about meth use.
“This is a concern to us because our folks are employing people who have families who are living there,” Montana Petroleum Agency spokeswoman Jessica Sena said.
Drug traffickers target oil workers who work long hours and earn high wages, Sena said.
Meth use also breaks apart families, leading to an increase in the number of children being referred to child protective services and putting them at use of using meth themselves.
“It has a cyclical quality to it,” Ostermiller said. “I find that very disturbing.”
Malcolm Horn, clinical director at Rimrock Foundation, said many patients receiving treatment say they grew up around meth and began using it at a young age. It’s not that uncommon for a patient to say they first used meth with their mother, she said.