To combat the state’s tragically high number of drug overdoses, the lawmakers of California are planning to try out something new: paying people with addictions to keep a clean streak.
According to a report made by The Associated Press, Governor Gavin Newsom has requested federal permission to embark on a new plan, “contingency management.”
In this process, tax money is used via Medicaid to deliver payouts for clean drug tests passed over a specified amount of time. Most people who complete treatment without running into any positive tests can earn a few hundred dollars, usually on a gift card.
An example of a participant who had taken part in a similar program to successful results is Tyrone Cliffords. He was promised to be paid for every negative test over 12 weeks in the privately-funded project, so he joined in to curb his meth addiction.
His first payment amounted to US$2, but this slowly grew with each subsequent negative test. In total, he received US$330. “I thought, I can do 12 weeks. I’ve done that before when my dealer was in jail,” he said. “When I’m done I’ll have 330 bucks to get high with.’”
But at the end of the 12 weeks, he used the money to buy a laptop instead, allowing him to go back to school. He reports that he hasn’t touched meth in more than a decade.
“You watch those dollar values go up, there is proof right there that I am doing this,” he told The Associated Press. It’s not a huge amount of money, but it’s enough to serve as motivation, and that’s sometimes all we need. “By no means is anyone getting rich off this program,” he clarified.
It’s also important to note that money alone won’t fix addiction, a deeply seated psychological illness. Cliffords’ treatment included extensive counseling sessions, both group and individual. This not only kept him accountable but also made him feel part of a community.
The total cost of this would depend on how many participants there are. If 1,000 people took part, it could cost as much as US$286,000.
However, when considering California’s total operating budget exceeding US$262 billion, the lives that could be saved as a result, and the positive impact it will have the community and its future, that amount of money suddenly feels like spare change.
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