Experts: Massachusetts not equipped for rise in meth, cocaine use
By Matt Murphy
State House News Service
The focus for years in the state's fight against substance abuse has been on illegal and prescription opioids, but a legislative committee on Tuesday heard from experts that the use of stimulants, particularly methamphetamines, has been quietly on the rise without a system in place to adequately respond.
The Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery held a hearing to solicit feedback from experts in the field on the use of stimulants and the state's preparedness to respond.
After a year of living through a pandemic, the opioid crisis has not gone away, but not every overdose death can be blamed on opioids, with an increasing number of tragedies related to stimulants or the mixing of the two types of narcotics.