What is methadone? Methadone is a potent synthetic narcotic drug, that is less addictive than morphine or heroin and is used as a substitute for these drugs in addiction treatment programs. It may also be used for chronic pain management.
The purpose of methadone clinics is to help addicts get off of narcotics. According to whitehousedrugpolicy.gov methadone is supposed to reduce the cravings associated with heroin and similar drugs, but does not provide the euphoric effect. However, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center methadone is definitely a drug of abuse and the trend may be driven by the fact that it is so readily available as treatment of narcotic addiction and to relieve chronic pain.
How are these clinics run? Many methadone clinics give the patient a dose of the drug at the clinic and a dose to take home. However, most clinics also require periodic drug testing, to see if the person is abusing other drugs and usually some sort of counseling program is provided.
Although these clinics are very controversial it would be wrong to say that they have no benefits at all. Some people that truly want help are helped. But methadone is a dangerous drug and is very addictive. And unfortunately, methadone clinics do play a part in this problem. For one, they give patients that provide clean urine samples “take home” doses. It is a good idea to monitor patients for abuse of other drugs, but many addicts manage to stay one step ahead of everyone by finding new ways to give samples that aren’t their own. A lot of people in law enforcement and the medical field say this doesn’t happen, but I know from personal experience it does. I have a relative that fooled her clinic for a long time and it wasn’t until she was tested unexpectedly at a job interview that she was caught. A lot of people sell these “take home” doses to people that want to use it to get high. Some experts say clinics keep people on methadone too long. The idea is to give methadone to the patient to alleviate the dangerous withdraw effects of other drugs, but methadone itself is very hard to withdraw from. People are usually kept on the drug for 3 years or longer before the clinic starts to reduce the dose to slowly get the person off of it. And a lot of time this doesn’t work. The person either gets it illegally from someone else or they return to their old drug. So are we giving society the wrong impression? Are clinics just substituting one addiction for another? Its understandable that something needs to be done with a person is just starting to withdraw from a drug because withdraw symptoms can be very dangerous, but how long should patients be kept on a drug. Many people become addicted to drugs due to underlying psychological problems and to truly solve a problem, you have to get to the root of it. Although most clinics do have a counseling program perhaps they should focus a little more on making people understand that they can’t just switch addictions and solve the problem.
According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Methadone costs about $13 per day and is considered a cost-effective alternative to incarceration. Many people have been given the chance to go to a clinic for a reduced sentence. But how many of these people actually want help? If you got in trouble for something and was told you can join a treatment program or go to jail, what would you do?
These clinics are also dangerous because the drug is too unpredictable. Methadone tends to accumulate in body tissues and can react with other drugs (even prescription drugs). It has many dangerous side effects including sudden cardiac arrest and some patients have actually died from it, even while in a medical setting.
But methadone clinics aren’t the only reason this drug has become such a problem. People that obtain it from pain clinics also abuse it or sell it.
So should methadone clinics be allowed? I don’t believe so. I understand that methadone does help prevent some of the dangerous withdraw side effects of other drugs, but if this is going to be done, it should be done in a hospital setting and only for as long as absolutely necessary. The idea of letting people that we know are already addicted to a drug, take another addictive drug home with them is ridiculous. And addicts that break the law should be allowed to join a treatment program along WITH serving out their sentence. Just because these people have a psychological problem does not mean they shouldn’t be punished for breaking the law.
