Two things haven’t changed for the Flathead Valley Chemical Dependency Clinic in the 40 years it has been open: alcohol is the No. 1 cause of patients going to the clinic, and resources are spread thin.

Founded officially in 1974, the clinic’s history closely parallels those of other chemical dependency clinics in the nation, according to Executive Director Mike Cummins.

“In the late ’60s and early ’70s, there were some volunteer efforts to provide help to alcoholics,” he said. “But it wasn’t official until 1974 when the agency was founded and applied to be a nonprofit.”

Cummins, who has been with the clinic for 23 years, said the Flathead Valley Chemical Dependency Clinic was launched amid a national push to bring attention to alcoholism. This was largely spurred by Iowa politician Harold Hughes admitting he was an alcoholic and that there were options for those suffering.

Volunteers ran the clinic in its early days. The clinic now employs 26, including close to 10 counselors and prevention specialists in four offices and one woman’s home.

That’s one reason the clinic is spread so thin, Cummins said. It is responsible for addiction recovery in Flathead, Lincoln and Sanders counties, with offices in Kalispell, Libby, Eureka and Thompson Falls.

“Our facility hasn’t grown in terms of funding,” Cummins said. “Or at least not the same rate as inflation or health-care costs.”

All of the clinic offices handle outpatient care, providing addiction assessments, counseling, case management and referral services.

“We can refer them to the Butte Chemical Dependency Clinic if they need medical help,” Cummins said. “We never turn down a patient for lack of money, but some of our clients are successful and have money.”

Federal, state and county funding accounts for about 60 percent of the clinic’s funding, with the additional 40 percent coming from fees charged for services.

Over the clinic’s four-decade history, the secondary addiction issues have come and gone, while alcohol remains the biggest challenge.

“Alcohol has always been far and away the biggest problem we’ve seen here,” Cummins said. “We have seen a rise in recent years of oxycodone and prescription painkillers followed by heroin. Heroin has followed on the coattails, because they are both opiates.”

Since 1974, the “fads” of narcotics such as cocaine, amphetamines, Quaaludes, methamphetamine and now prescriptions opioid painkillers have changed both the drug culture and treatments.

“We don’t prescribe any medication,” Cummins said. “We use an abstinence-based approach. What is it about our society, about our culture’s propensity to look for new things, for new feelings?”

When not waxing philosophical, Cummins and the seven counselors in Kalispell are responsible for 360 active clients a month, along with another active 100 clients undergoing DUI counseling. The clinic handles the county’s drunk drivers.

“There is always more demand than funding,” he said. “But more funding sometimes means that awful T word — tax. People say, ‘I don’t have a problem, I don’t do drugs, why should I pay?’ They pay for it in other ways. We have a tendency to be penny wise, dollar foolish.”

The other costs Cummins referred to include the cost of law enforcement to deal with drunk drivers, or at a standoff with someone high on drugs, or from an overdose at the emergency room. It may not show up as an alcohol cost, he said, but people can be sure taxpayers already are paying for these people with addiction problems.

That’s where the clinic’s prevention focus comes in. Information, and erasing stigmas are a huge part of what the clinic attempts to do.

“We give talks in schools, at Kiwanis and Lions clubs,” Cummins said. “Drug and alcohol problems are people problems. It doesn’t say anything about the character of the person if they struggle with addiction. Addiction is a biological thing. Dopamine is the master and commander of your brain.”

Dopamine, the “feel good” hormone the brain releases, is a culprit in addiction.

Cummins teaches courses at Flathead Valley Community College in counseling, and said those students have become good feeders for the clinic.

But treatment and counseling are about more than just kicking the habit, he said. “It’s about learning how to live.”

With more than 700 patients a year going through the clinic, money is stretched thin. But Cummins said he believes the Flathead Valley Chemical Dependency Clinic makes a difference.

“This is my bias, but being in existence for 40 years, the clinic has made a significant improvement to the lives of families and the community,” Cummins said. “But at best, good treatment is a 50/50 proposition. We’ve survived for 40 years, through funding issues, political moves and everything. We’ve stayed the course.”

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.