The ‘meth’ epidemic: Managing acute psychosis, agitation, and suicide risk
Methamphetamine-induced psychosis is difficult to differentiate from a primary thought disorder, especially in patients who
show signs of both.
Psychosocial treatments. Involve social services in assessing the patient’s need for community resources. Miss G’s ability to benefit from these programs will depend on her cognitive capacity, education level, trauma history, and comorbid psychiatric illness.
For patients who relapse to methamphetamine use, previous successful treatment and abstinence may be a hopeful prognostic sign and warrant referral to a program for recidivists. The patient’s legal status may limit some options in the community but open others in the criminal justice system.
Methamphetamine users often have multiple problems that require attention. For example, compared with other mothers under investigation by child welfare services in California, methamphetamine-abusing mothers were younger and less educated on average, less likely to have had substance-abuse treatment, and more likely to have criminal records.31 These findings underscore the challenge of coordinating a response that integrates separate and complex systems—psychiatric/substance abuse treatment, child welfare, and criminal justice.
- Methresources. Web site pooling information from multiple agencies for communities, law enforcement, and policy makers. www.methresources.gov.
- Methamphetamine. National drug threat assessment, with information on methamphetamine production, trafficking, and patterns of use. U.S. Department of Justice. Drug Enforcement Administration. www.dea.gov/concern/18862/meth.htm.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Drug and Alcohol Services Information System. Trends in methamphetamine/amphetamine admissions to treatment: 1993-2003. The DASIS Report 2006; Issue 9. www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k6/methTX/methTX.pdf.
Drug brand names
- Droperidol • Inapsine
- Haloperidol • Haldol
- Lorazepam • Ativan
- Midazolam • Versed
Disclosure
The authors report no financial relationship with any company whose products are mentioned in this article or with manufacturers of competing products.
