The fourth wave of the overdose crisis: Examining the prominent role of psychomotor stimulants with and without fentanyl

Abstract

The current overdose and broader public health crisis involving illicit drug use is often referred to as the “opioid” or “fentanyl” crisis. Clearly there is extensive data on the profound damage done by opioids over the past 20 years and specifically by fentanyl in the past 5 years. However, there is an extensive array of data that suggests there is more to the current crisis than opioids/fentanyl. Much recent evidence indicates that methamphetamine and cocaine are playing a substantial and increasing role in the illicit drug crisis in the US—the 4th wave. This paper reviews data that illustrate the role of psychomotor stimulants in fatal overdoses, nonfatal overdoses, and emergency department visits. Despite the major detrimental role that stimulants are having on the public health in the US in 2023, there is virtually no evidence-based treatment available in practice for people with stimulant use disorder (StimUD). Although there are no medications with FDA-approval for the treatment of StimUD, there is a behavioral treatment, contingency management (CM), with over 3 decades of robust research supporting its efficacy for individuals with StimUD. Despite the overwhelming evidence supporting CM, it is not being widely used in routine treatment outside the VA healthcare system. This paper reviews some of the (a) evidence for CM, (b) CM protocol design elements that require consideration, (c) current obstacles to the widespread implementation of CM, and (d) strategies for addressing these obstacles. Overcoming these obstacles is a priority to allow routine use of CM as a treatment for StimUD.