State to seek input to address substance abuse in Montana

As Montana faces a growing number of people affected by addiction, state officials have launched an effort to collect advice from those impacted by addiction disorders.

Attorney General Tim Fox announced the effort this month through his office’s Aid Montana initiative.

“Whether you’re a health-care professional, educator, social worker, or have experienced or work with the effects of substance abuse ... we want to hear your ideas for what needs to be done to fight this epidemic ripping through our state,” he said in a press release.

Over the summer, the attorney general’s office and the Montana Department of Justice will partner with the Montana Healthcare Foundation to hold six listening sessions across the state to hear people’s experience with addiction.

The dates and locations for the listening sessions are scheduled to be announced early this month.

Fox said he hopes to use the information gathered through the listening sessions to improve the state’s approach to confronting substance disorders.

“We need to know what works, what doesn’t work, what’s missing, what Montanans have found to be most effective through their experiences,” he said.

ROUGHLY 10 percent of Montana’s population over the age of 18 reported alcohol or illicit drug-use patterns defined as dependence or abuse, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In his April speech announcing the Aid Montana initiative, Fox said nearly 64,000 Montanans 18 and older suffered from substance abuse disorders in 2016. He added that, simultaneously, Montana has the capacity to treat 6,000 people.

“That means more than 90 percent of Montanans in need of substance-abuse treatment do not receive it annually,” he said.

A joint report by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and Montana Healthcare Foundation released last March estimated that roughly 4,000 adults in Montana may be seeking — but unable to access — outpatient substance-abuse treatment. Manatt Health authored the report.

ADDRESSING THE Impact of Drugs, or Aid Montana, was launched by the attorney general’s office and the Montana Department of Justice in April.

Along with Montanans’ advice, the initiative works to combine law enforcement, treatment and education efforts.

The Department of Justice and the Montana Healthcare Foundation will hold a substance abuse and addiction summit this fall to begin developing a substance abuse prevention strategy founded on the input gathered from the listening sessions.

The people leading the initiative have a goal to form a strategic plan before the 2019 legislative session. Aid Montana representatives will present that “road map” to lawmakers to show what could be done at the legislative level to counter addiction disorders — whether it’s shifting resources or changing laws to better reflect the reality of the problem.

For more information, visit https://dojmt.gov/aid-montana/.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.