Of all the data that shows a resurgence of methamphetamine in Pueblo, one trend is the most troubling: a spike in meth overdose deaths in recent years.

There were 16 people in Pueblo County who died from overdosing on meth in 2018, according to data provided to The Pueblo Chieftain by Kirk Bol of the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.

That number jumped from 14 overdoses the previous year, and from eight in 2016, seven in 2015 and six in 2014, according to the data.

Statewide data mirrors the increasing meth overdose trend seen in Pueblo County.

There were 318 meth overdose deaths reported throughout the state in 2018. That's up from 299 in 2017, 196 in 2016, 139 in 2015 and 113 in 2014.

Last year marked the first time in recent years that deaths from meth overdose in Pueblo —16 — were greater than those involving death from heroin and other opioids; heroin overdoses accounted for six deaths and overdoses from other opioids were responsible for nine.

Across the medical community, there are theories about why meth overdoses have increased in recent years, but no single cause can be pinpointed, Bol said

The most recent statistics from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicate that meth use has been increasing nationally, with some larger increases in western states, possibly suggesting meth is becoming more available from more sources, Bol said.

The Center for Disease Control reports that rates of overdose deaths involving psychostimulants has been increasing nationwide. More than 10,000 Americans died from an overdose involving psychostimulants with abuse potential in 2017, which was a 37 percent increase from the previous year, according to the CDC’s data.

As the U.S. has tightened policies on prescribing opioids, in Colorado, deaths involving overdoses of both meth and heroin are rising, Bol said.

Across the state in 2017, there were 79 overdose deaths in which both heroin and meth contributed, according to a report Bol published in December. That's up from 64 in 2016 and 25 in both 2015 and 2014.

The numbers of overdose deaths from a combination of meth and heroin in Pueblo County alone is not available, but the meth-heroin overlap is being noticed in Pueblo, said Dr. Michael Nerenberg, a co-founder of the Southern Colorado Harm Reduction Association in Pueblo, which provides resources such as clean needles and fentanyl test strips to drug users.

"When we first got started (in July 2017) and asked what someone's substance of choice was it was almost all heroin," Nerenberg said. "A few people did both, and a few just said (they took) whatever they could get their hands on. In the last year and a half, we've been hearing a lot more people talking about meth."

Nerenberg said there could be several reasons someone would use both meth and heroin, but one theory appears more plausible.

"Some use them to kind of modulate each other," he said. "Heroin is a down, and meth is an up. If you need to wake up, you take meth. If you need to get down, you take heroin. Meth seems to help the heroin work better some people have said."

The SCHRA is open each Saturday. Typically, about 140 people stop by weekly for services. Nerenberg said he estimates that about 50 percent of the clients that come to SCHRA say they’re using meth.

Though he's made a lot of observations, Nerenberg said he can't say exactly why meth is on the comeback.

"Everything comes and goes over time. It just depends on the time," he said.

Another area in which a spike in meth use has been observed is in hospital emergency rooms.

Karen Randall, who has been an emergency room doctor at Parkview Medical Center since 2013, said she has noticed that urine drug screens of hospital patients that test positive for meth have almost tripled.

In 2013, when there were 570 tests given a month on average, there was a mean of 53 people a month who tested positive for meth, Randall said. In 2018, when there were 636 urine tests administered per month, there was an average of 129 people who tested positive for meth per month.

Randall said she has seen a patient as young as 15 years old come into the emergency room overdosing on meth. She's also seen people as old as their 60s overdosing.

"Meth and high potency THC are the most violent and psychotic patients we have," Randall said.

Randall said she recalls a patient recently who was so high on meth that it took six police officers to secure him. The patient was sweating profusely, had a temperature of 105 degrees and was taken to the hospital after he was found naked in a parking lot.

"I see it every day, multiple times a day. We're seeing a lot of it," Randall said of meth overdoses. "Meth is a really bad drug. It's near the top of the list of the drugs that are the worst."

rseverance@chieftain.com

Twitter: @RyanS_Chieftain