Make secure detox a viable part of WA’s addiction-recovery response

Back in 2018, a new law went into effect that allowed people who presented a danger to themselves or others or were gravely disabled from a drug or alcohol problem to be involuntarily detained in a secure treatment facility.

Called Ricky’s Law, it offers promise but has so far failed to achieve its potential. In that regard, nothing much has changed in recent years. What’s needed is a renewed focus on making it work.

A report by the state Health Care Authority reveals that from October 2022 to last September, only about 55% of the designated Ricky’s Law beds were used.

During that period, there were 51 beds across the state in what’s known as “secure withdrawal management and stabilization” facilities. A total of 745 individuals received treatment, with an average daily census of 28.

Washington’s four secure facilities are located in Chehalis, Wenatchee, Vancouver and Kent.

According to a Health Care Authority spokesperson there are several reasons why secure treatment facilities remain at about half capacity.

The primary barriers include patients with medical and behavioral health issues that treatment facilities cannot handle. There’s a lack of secure ambulances. And staffing difficulties have periodically caused facilities to reduce the number of available beds.

While these challenges remain unsolved, the death toll grows.

So far this year, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office reports that 264 people have died from overdoses involving opioids like fentanyl. Ten years ago, 229 people died of such overdoses for all of 2014.

There is no single solution that will turn around this terrible trend. But Ricky’s Law is sound policy that needs improvement.

The state should make secure treatment facilities functional for people with complex health needs, and to improve ambulance services so that lack of transportation doesn’t equate to lack of care. These should not be insurmountable barriers.

Substance use disorder is a public health crisis, contributing to crime and chaos, fractured families, and avoidable and early death. It should be tackled with the same urgency and determination as any other disease outbreak.

This means making secure detox an integral part of the state’s addiction recovery response instead of an underused option that makes little practical difference.