Jamie Mains showed up for her checkup so high that there was no point in pretending otherwise. At least she wasn\u2019t shooting fentanyl again; medication was suppressing those cravings. Now it was methamphetamine that manacled her, keeping her from eating, sleeping, thinking straight. Still, she could not stop injecting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGive me something that\u2019s going to help me with this,\u201d she begged her doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is nothing,\u201d the doctor replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overcoming meth addiction has become one of the biggest challenges of the national drug crisis. Fentanyl deaths have been dropping, in part because of medications that can reverse overdoses and curb the urge to use opioids. But no such prescriptions exist for meth, which works differently on the brain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recent years, meth, a highly addictive stimulant, has been spreading aggressively across the country, rattling communities<\/a> and increasingly involved<\/a> in overdoses. Lacking a medical treatment, a growing number of clinics are trying a startlingly different strategy: To induce patients to stop using meth, they pay them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The approach has been around for decades, but most clinics were uneasy<\/a> about adopting it because of its bluntly transactional nature<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> Meth use is surging, but unlike opioids, there\u2019s no approved medication to ease cravings. In response, clinics across the country are offering small financial rewards to help patients. It\u2019s a behavioral intervention that\u2019s showing real results. Read more: https:\/\/t.co\/eaDcMOJu87<\/a><\/p>— Addiction Policy Forum (@AddictionPolicy) July 17, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>