Methadone Use for Opiate Addiction essays

Methadone Use for Opiate Addiction essays I believe that methadone use for opiate addiction treatment has both pros and cons. Methadone is a long-acting opioid used exclusively as substitution therapy for individuals unable to remain abstinent from short-acting opioids and according to studies the gold standard treatment for opiate addiction. There is scientific evidence that the use of methadone in a proper dose to a tolerant person results in absolutely no physical or psychological impairment of any kind that can be detected by the patient, physician, or scientist. For example, there is no impairment of balance, coordination, mental abilities, eye-hand coordination, depth perception, pyscho-motor function, or moral judgment. According to studies the methadone maintained person can offer better assurances of ongoing sobriety and abstinence than other persons that are not being supervised and monitored with regular random urine drug screens. With that said, there are many methadone clinics in this area that do monitor p atients in-house for a short period, then the patient is allowed to come to the clinic only to take the methadone in front of an employee, and then given a prescription to have the methadone filled at a pharmacy and taken on their own. They too are given urine screens but since methadone is detected in urine for up to TWELVE days the person can take one pill weekly (just to be safe) and sell the rest, putting the rest of the methadone tabs on the street. Like in the case of Bobby G. England, he too was going to a methadone clinic that was supplying him with a months supply of methadone that he was apparently selling. I feel that if a person does attend a methadone clinic it should be short term only and a tapering dose should be given with the final result being the person is drug-free (including methadone). I also believe that methadone maintenance is a money maker for clinics. If a physician says that a patient needs methadone for life ...