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Noem Touts Meth Hotline Calls as Success; Caller Begs to Differ

Published 2019-12-27 by Cory Allen Heidelberger

Since the launch of her ridiculous and costly “We’re On Meth™” campaign, Governor Kristi Noem has tried to justify her error by claiming her ploy for attention has driven dozens of people to call the state’s meth hotline.

As a minor point in an extensive essay on South Dakota’s meth problem (part of which problem is the inability of our one-party regime to come up with an effective policy solutions), attorney Jay Davis questions the validity of using hotline calls as a metric of success for the ad campaign or our overall meth policy:

For her part, Noem is not admitting to any error in judgment. As evidence that the ad campaign has been effective, she noted on December 19 that, in just one month, 87 people in South Dakota called the meth addiction hotlines that the state has established.

Actually, one of those 87 South Dakotans was me. No, I’m not a meth user, and neither is anyone in my family. It seemed a good way to start working on this article, and I was genuinely curious. Surely I’m not the only “looky loo” who called the meth hotline (1-800-920-4343) to see what treatment resources are being offered.

The person on the other end of the line was pleasant, but the list of available resources for meth treatment in South Dakota was not encouraging. At best, the assertion that “we’re on it” – in a positive sense – is a gross exaggeration. And since I have been defending criminal cases in South Dakota for nearly 30 years, most of the treatment programs that were presented to me were familiar names. For the record, a total of 12 treatment programs were identified. Three of the programs are solely for adolescents, one was the VA Medical Center in Hot Springs, and one is only for tribal members. All of the programs are designed primarily to treat alcoholics, not meth addicts. Some of the programs would just let an addict detoxify for a few days before being released back into the community. The vast majority  of in-state programs offer only a month of inpatient treatment [Jay Davis, “When It Comes to Meth Treatment, Attorney Jay Davis Says South Dakota’s Claim That ‘We’re On It’ Is a Gross Exaggeration,” South Dakota Standard, 2019.12.27].

87 calls in a month; that’s three a day. Davis notes that in 2018, South Dakota police made over 3,600 arrests for meth possession. At Noem’s stated rate, her “We’re On Meth™” campaign may persuade everyone with a meth problem to call the hotline by March, 2023. But even they do call, people hooked on meth apparently won’t hear about programs specifically designed to help them beat their uniquely challenging addiction (read Davis’s essay for more details on how meth messes up the brain more than other drugs).

Published in South Dakota

6 Comments

  1. Scott

    I was wondering what programs were out there and it sounds like not a lot of good options. I have heard it was hard to get into a good treatment program. Sounds like the money should have been spent on treatment programs before the ad campaign.

    2019-12-27
  2. Debbo

    I imagine accepting the gift that is Medicaid would do a great deal more for South Dakotans suffering from addiction than a ridiculous ad. Exceptionally cheaper for the state too.

    2019-12-27
  3. Mark

    I believe that our fearless leader spent 1.4 million dollars to put lipstick
    on a gorilla.

    2019-12-27
  4. bearcreekbat

    Debbo’s right as usual:

    Medicaid is a public insurance program for low-income families. Under the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as “Obamacare,” insurance providers (including Medicaid) must cover all basic aspects of drug and alcohol dependency recovery. . . .

    Medicaid recipients don’t have co-payments for addiction treatment in most states. For states that charge co-payments, there is an out-of-pocket maximum set for Medicaid recipients.

    Medicaid covers all or part of the following services:

    Screenings
    Intervention
    Maintenance and craving medications
    Family counseling
    Inpatient care
    Long-term residential treatment
    Detox
    Outpatient visits
    Other mental health services

    https://www.addictioncenter.com/rehab-questions/medicaid-and-medicare/

    See also:

    https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/bhs/substance-use-disorders/index.html

    2019-12-28
  5. o

    Know your role. There is a point to increasing awareness of an issue (as long as you don’t go full-on riot boosting over it?); however, that is not the same as tackling that issue — working to eradicate the wrong or propagate the right. Cheerleading is for those in the sidelines; GOVERNOR Noem is in the game, on the field, entrusted with the power and might of SD resources.

    Just as I write this, The Governor’s “drive safely — especially during the holidays” message just ran on the TV.

    There has to be a higher expectation than increasing awareness of non-controversial issues.

    2019-12-28
  6. Richard Schriever

    Talked to a long-time friend of mine in LA on Xmas day. He had a lot of mockery to throw SD’s way over the “Meth, We’re On It” campaign. A LOT. And this is from a guy who has some border-line admiration for Trump (it’s been on the decrease though), just sayin’.

    2019-12-28

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