Gift Cards Proposed to Deal with Seattle's Out-of-Control Meth Problem
Seattle is one of many Democrat-led U.S. cities that can’t seem to get a grip on skyrocketing drug use and overdose deaths.
While fentanyl seems to be the driving force behind America’s latest surge in overdoses, old-fashioned methamphetamine holds the unfortunate record for overdose deaths in Seattle, leading its City Council to try a different approach.
According to KIRO-TV, a bombshell audit of drug use in Seattle revealed that 74 percent of overdose deaths among homeless people are caused by meth, a relatively cheap and easily obtainable drug, especially in cities where open-air drug use is common.
City Council members plan to fight back by incentivizing Seattle residents to not do drugs — in the form of gift cards.
It’s a notable development, given that the city has essentially legalized hard drug use. Apparently, city leaders are suddenly concerned about the stats.
For perspective on how bad the situation has become, the report showed that in 2016, 98 people died as a result of a meth overdose in Seattle. In 2021, that number skyrocketed to 365. The number of meth-related overdose deaths in Seattle this year has already reached 316, likely on a path to trounce last year’s numbers.
It’s a dark and scary situation, and Seattle City Council members Andrew Lewis and Lisa Herbold, who obviously lack any real-world experience dealing with hardcore drug addicts, believe they can reverse the progressive city’s daunting overdose statistics by paying meth users not to use meth.
The program is called “contingency management,” and it would give drug users who quit — and pass urine tests — a financial reward in the form of a gift card. The value of the gift cards would increase after each successive clean test.
The practice of “contingency management” isn’t new. A 2014 video posted by Washington State University showed an example of a typical CM treatment visit and how the process goes. WSU described the program as “an intervention in which tangible reinforcers (rewards) are provided when a patient demonstrates abstinence assessed by urine drug tests.”
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The program in Seattle will reportedly last 12 weeks, and participants will have a chance to earn up to $300 in gift cards or vouchers. In Seattle, that’s probably just enough to have dinner, fill up a gas tank and maybe pay a cellphone bill.
It doesn’t strike me as the life-changing money that might be a catalyst for someone to change his lifestyle and habits. In addition, anyone who has dealt with drug addicts knows they’re some of the best con artists around.
In other words, it’s probably only a matter of time before the program, if it ever gets off the ground, gets taken advantage of by shifty addicts looking to score.
Also, who’s paying for such a program? Will it be taxpayer-funded? Do Washington taxpayers get a vote?
It’s painfully clear at this point that the program will likely be yet another wasteful, ineffective tool to fight a problem that Democratic city leaders let happen on their watch.
Addicts, especially long-term users, will overwhelmingly not be persuaded to kick their habits for a few lousy gift cards. If kicking addiction were that easy, believe me, we wouldn’t have any addicts at all.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
