Get Help

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, at this time the most effective treatments for methamphetamine addiction are approaches designed to help modify the patient's thinking, expectations and behaviors, and to increase skills in coping with various life stressors.

There are some clinical trials of medications to treat methamphetamine abuse. Studies have involved antidepressants and anticonvulsants and another drug, Prometa, is designed to address physical symptoms of dependence.

Find Treatment

For help in finding a treatment provider, see the online Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator maintained by the federal Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration.

For information on state-approved chemical dependency treatment, contact the Addictive and Mental Disorders Division of the Department of Public Health and Human Services at P.O. Box 202905, Helena, MT 59620-2905, or call (406) 444-3964 or fax (406) 444-4435.

For a list of local narcotics anonymous meetings, see the Narcotics Anonymous website.

Admissions to treatment

In Montana, admissions to state-approved chemical dependency treatment providers in which patients listed meth as their primary drug have decreased by 33 percent since 2007.

Montana treatment admissions
2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
903	1,012	1,151	1,268	1,457	938	628
Of the 628 patients who named meth as their primary drug in fiscal year 2008: 48.2 percent named injection as the primary method of use 379 were men, 249 were women about 68.5 percent were ages 18-34
Source: Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services

Nationally, admissions to treatment for methamphetamine as the primary substance of abuse decreased from 2005 to 2006.

National treatment admissions
2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
78,575	102,908	114,631	126,701	152,698	149,415
Of the patients who named meth as their primary drug in 2006: Sixty-five percent of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions reported smoking as the route of administration, 18 percent reported injection, and 11 percent reported inhalation. Over half – 54.2 percent – of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions were male. More than two-thirds – 67.5 percent – of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions were white, followed by 19.3 percent who were Hispanic. For primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions, the average age at admission was 31.
Source: Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies, Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) Highlights – 2006 (PDF)