Pubdate: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 Source: Register-Herald, The (Beckley, WV) Copyright: 2003 The Register-Herald Contact: http://www.register-herald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1441 Author: Joe Mytro Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone) METHADONE CLINICS ARE A BAND-AID In response to a recent letter ... I am appalled that a counselor and recovering addict supports methadone clinics as a good thing for addicts to get involved with in any way, shape or form. Use of methadone has been shown to reduce crime only because addicts no longer need to get a "fix" on the streets. All they have to do is show up and pay for their daily dose of methadone. I listened to a recovering addict who used heroin for 30 years, went to a meth clinic to stop using heroin, yet still got high daily on his daily 30 mg dose of methadone. (It is not uncommon for doses up to 150 mg to be dispensed. More meth, more money). Heroin kills. OxyContin kills. Methadone kills. My question to those who support methadone maintenance is, where is the recovery? Total abstinence from all drugs is the only way for an addict to recover from addiction, learn a new way of life and become a responsible, productive member of society. Methadone clinics sell (and I emphasize "sell") addicts a highly addictive narcotic that has horrendous withdrawal symptoms. It allows owners of the clinics to make millions of dollars. Their profit is solely dependent upon keeping the addict coming back on a daily basis for more dope. Methadone clinics are a Band-Aid for the huge problem of drug addiction, and the addict and society pay the price. The clinic owners reap the profits. This is not recovery. Society's illusion that methadone clinics solve the problem of drug addiction needs to be shattered. There is no recovery in substituting one addictive drug for another. Joe Mytro Beckley - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake