Policy Brief
Social Problem to be covered in policy brief: Methamphetamine abuse in Hawaii
Overview
Applying the framework for policy analysis, develop and submit a policy brief. A policy brief is (as you may have guessed) “brief” – concise and to the point. It can take many forms, but the general format you are to use is as follows:
- Describe a problem or issue
- Present and describe a few options for dealing with the problem or issue
- Present and describe your recommendations on the “best” policy or program option.
Your recommendations could involve adjustments in any of the key areas of policy analysis: social allocation (who), social provision (what), social service delivery (how), and/or financing (by what means).
Components
Specifically, your brief should cover the following:
1) Description of the Problem or Issue
- What is the social problem?
- What is the scope of the current problem?
- What is (are) the cause(s) to which the problem is attributed, and what are the problem’s most serious consequences?
2) Description of Options for Response
- Present and briefly describe 3-4 possible ways to address the problem you have identified through public policies or programs
- These could include policy options that have been tried in the United States or elsewhere, but could also include options that have not been previously tried.
- These could include the policies or programs you identified in your Week 5 Discussion – Choosing a Social Welfare Response.
3) Recommendations
- What option for addressing the identified problem or issue are you recommending (could be a change to an existing policy or program or a new policy or program)?
- In what ways is(are) your proposed response(s) better than both the status quo and other plausible options?
- Forecast how your changes might affect the social work profession.
4) Format
Your policy brief should be 2 pages long, single-spaced, and in block paragraph style. As with any paper, all information retrieved from a source should be cited to that source. However, you may use either traditional APA format for your sources or footnotes or endnotes.
Policy Brief: Methamphetamine abuse in Hawaii
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Methamphetamine, popularly known as meth, is an addictive substance that is now commonly used in many communities and has led to significant implications to individuals and the community. Methamphetamine was developed in the beginning of the 20th century to be used as medication for conditions such as fatigue and obesity. Its medicinal use reduced significantly in the 1970s when the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration categorized it as a Schedule II substance. However, in the 1980s, the substance resurfaced in various regions, especially California and Hawaii. For more than 30 years, Hawaii has dealt with methamphetamine abuse. For instance, in 2010, drug tests conducted in workplaces in Hawaii revealed that the rates of methamphetamine abuse were 410 percent higher than the U.S. national average. Methamphetamine is also the most common drug abused by adults in Hawaii apart from alcohol. Moreover, crime data indicates that Hawaii has the highest rates of incarcerations related to methamphetamine. For example, in 2015, at least 94 percent of all illegal substance convictions were associated with methamphetamine. Approximately 50 percent of the people admitted for substance abuse treatment in Hawaiian facilities described methamphetamine as their drug preference as compared to marijuana (17 percent), and alcohol (30 percent) (Kiyokawa et al., 2021).
The impacts of methamphetamine indicate that the drug is a public safety concern that must be addressed. Methamphetamine is an extremely powerful stimulant, and its effects last for between ten to twenty hours unlike other substances such as heroin which need to be administered frequently. The long-lasting stimulant property is linked to vascular conditions such as heart ischemia and hypertension among methamphetamine users. Additionally, users exhibit impaired judgment hence they may easily cause accidents. Other impacts of methamphetamine include psychological and neurological impairment. Moreover, widespread methamphetamine use has burdened the Hawaiian healthcare system which has insufficient resources to cater to patients who overdose, develop vascular conditions, or require treatment at mental health facilities. In the last ten years, methamphetamine-related deaths quadrupled and the rate may be even higher because the drug plays a significant role in the development of heart disease. The death rates are expected to rise if appropriate strategies to deal with the methamphetamine abuse are not implemented (Kiyokawa et al., 2021).
Substance abuse treatment and prevention is part of the sustainable development goals (MDGs) developed by the United Nations. At a global level, at least 2 percent of all illnesses are linked to substance abuse disorders. The global strategy developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) calls for the development of national policies which improve the public health response to substance abuse and enhance the capacity for treating and preventing addiction disorders and other associated health issues (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2015).
Options for Response
Hawaiian legislators have developed key legislations in the past ten years that provide a foundation for dealing with substance abuse issues e. An example is Act 217 of the 2015 Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) which provide people with immunity from substance-related charges when they call for medical help after overdosing on drugs. The Hawaiian Opioid Initiative also developed a statewide response that includes a needs assessment and an action plan to help deal with substance abuse issues. The initiative targets both opioids and other substances such as alcohol, cannabis, and methamphetamine. Notably, the initiative recognizes methamphetamine as the most prevalent substance that is abused by adults in Hawaii (Hawaii State Department of Health, 2017).
The strategies for addressing substance abuse as described in the Hawaiian Opioid Initiative action plan include improving treatment access for patients, creating public awareness on the issue and its impacts to the community, and identifying populations at risk for using methamphetamine for primary prevention. Patients with substance use disorders should have access to health services including interventions such as medication-assisted treatment. Additionally, healthcare facilities should hire qualified personnel in both inpatient and outpatient facilities to help treat patients addicted to methamphetamine. In Hawaii, the number of qualified medical personnel who can provide medication assisted treatment is limited hence it is important to provide training services that will increase the healthcare workforce. Public awareness campaigns ensure that the local community is educated on substance abuse and includes programs offered in institutions such as schools (Hawaii State Department of Health, 2017).
Other strategies described by the Hawaiian opioid Initiative include implementation of pharmacy-based interventions which focus on improving access to life-saving medication such as Naloxone in case of overdoses. The initiative also encourages supporting first responders and law enforcement in the coordination of services and operations in case of emergencies such as overdoses. First responders should be provided with a training curriculum that includes protocols for saving the lives of victims of drug overdose (Hawaii State Department of Health, 2017).
Recommendations
Although the Hawaiian opioid Initiative provides a rather comprehensive action plan to promote the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders, the Hawaiian healthcare system can barely afford to implement these interventions. There is also more focus on dealing with opioid addiction rather than methamphetamine which is more commonly abused within the community. Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic, methamphetamine abuse rates increased significantly, especially in cities such as Oahu (Pasia, 2021). To deal with the issue, more funds should be allocated to help fight methamphetamine abuse. The federal government should allocate more funds to ensure that adequate healthcare professionals are trained to provide quality healthcare services to methamphetamine addicts and to facilitate the building of more facilities and improve access to medication-assisted treatment. Additionally, adequate funding would ensure that the outreach programs that target both teenagers and adults are successful in reaching all people including those located in local communities. The proposed response is better that the other options because the Hawaiian healthcare system has inadequate resources including healthcare professionals and facilities and needs more funding to improve access to quality healthcare and create awareness about methamphetamine.
Social workers play a significant role in fighting substance abuse. They advocate for the implementation of policies that help fight against substance abuse. Additionally, they work directly with clients hence they can easily identify those at risk of substance use of those who are already addicted. Social workers also provide substance abuse counseling in various healthcare settings including mental health facilities and hospitals. Furthermore, they educate members of the public about substance abuse and help deal with other issues such as stigmatization (Osborne-Leute et al., 2019). Improving funding for methamphetamine treatment and prevention would ensure that social workers have adequate resources to engage with people dealing with addiction.
References
Hawaii State Department of Health. (2017). https://health.hawaii.gov/substance-abuse/files/2013/05/The-Hawaii-Opioid-Initiative.pdf. https://health.hawaii.gov/substance-abuse/files/2013/05/The-Hawaii-Opioid-Initiative.pdf.
Kiyokawa, M., Cape, M., & Streltzer, J. (2021). Insights in Public Health. Hawaii Journal of Health & Social Welfare, 80(5), 117-118. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8111791/.
Osborne-Leute, V., Pugatch, M., & Hruschak, V. (2019). Social work: Addressing substance use in the 21st century. Substance Abuse, 40(4), 435-440. https://doi.org/10.1080/08897077.2019.1690090
Pasia, N. (2021). A look at Hawaii’s underfunded meth epidemic. https://stateofreform.com/news/hawaii/2021/09/a-look-at-hawaiis-underfunded-meth-epidemic/.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2015). Drug Policy and the Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.unodc.org/documents/ungass2016/Contributions/Civil/Health_Poverty_Action/HPA_SDGs_drugs_policy_briefing_WEB.pdf.