Date:   5/28/2004 12:23:45 AM ( 20 y ago)
Hits:   3,297
URL:   https://www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=377737

Ali wrote:

The one thing it didn't do, however, was enable me (or anyone else I knew) to stay clean.

Go over the the Addiction Treatment Watchdog Forum ( http://www.atwatchdog.org/forums/viewforum.php?f=1 ) or the NAMA message forum We Speak Methadone ( http://www.readybb.com/nama_wespeakmethadone/viewforum.php?f=2 ). There are lots of people clean there. I'm certainly not saying that everyone on methadone gets clean, but the benefits of methadone maintenance are obvious; an overall decrease (if not complete cessation) of drug use, a decline in criminal activity, an increase in employment, etc.

And I have been clean for two plus years on methadone maintenance. So now you know someone that is has worked for.

ALi wrote:

So I don't think methadone clinics should go away, just that people should have a good understanding of what they can and cannot do and know that methadone is an opiate just like heroin.

I am amazed that you seem to think that people don't know what they are getting into when they get onto methadone. When you got onto methadone, didn't they make you sign some forms? Is says it all right there. Also, the VAST majority of people who get onto methadone maintenance have been in the drug game so long (usually as heroin addicts) that they know all about methadone. And most heroin addicts are not on methadone at any given time (I think its something like 20% that are usually on it at one time).

I don't know anyone on MMT (methadone maintenance treatment) who doesn't know that methadone is an opiate. And if anyone doesn't know, the information is out there. It is not kept secret. A look in a dictionary or encyclopedia or a quick Google search could clear any confusion up.

Ali wrote:

...so many places seem to think that replacing one addiction for another is somehow going to heal an addiction and they neglect to enlighten people on other options.

I have seen two prevailing attitudes in methadone maintenance treatment, research, and literature: (1) that certain opiate addicts should stay on methadone for the rest of their lives, as the disease of opiate addiction is most effectively cured by the medication of methadone. (2) that methadone is an effective temporary "crutch" for opiate addicts to allow them time to "get their heads on straight" and rebuild their lives; once they are stable, they can withdrawal gradually from the methadone, making the transition to medication-free sobriety.

And to the contrary, I think that more often people are NOT enlightened about methadone treatment. The overwhelming majority of drug rehabs do not recommend methadone maintenance let alone offer it, and many do not even MENTION it. The lack of information the general public has on methadone is obvious in the attitude society at large has towards methadone maintenance treatment.

LisaMarie


 

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