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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 no particular pharmacological treatments for dependence on methamphetamine.

The Bridge Program

Through the Office of Victim Services, the Bridge Program – a partnership between the Montana Departments of Justice and Public Health and Human Services – provides funding to help support three residential recovery homes for drug-addicted women and their children in Billings, Great Falls and Missoula, and one in Livingston that provides services for men and women.

Families in recovery may have needs not covered by public aid, so the Bridge Program pays for services not covered by other types of assistance, including dental work, neurological examinations, transportation and the unique needs of children living in the homes.

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 26.4 percent since 2006.

Montana treatment admissions
2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
820	903	1,012	1,152	1,267	1,268	933
Of the 933 patients who named meth as their primary drug in fiscal year 2007: 43.1 percent named injection as the primary method of use 470 were men, 463 were women about 68.4 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 more than doubled from 2000 to 2005.

National treatment admissions
2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
67,568	82,411	106,275	117,520	130,190	152,368
Of the patients who named meth as their primary drug in 2005: Sixty-three percent of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions reported smoking as the route of administration, 18.9 percent reported injection, and 12.4 percent reported inhalation. Over half – 53.8 percent – of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions were male. Almost three-quarters – 71.4 percent – of primary methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions were white, followed by 17.5 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 – 2005 (PDF)

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