Pubdate: Tue, 25 Nov 2008 Source: Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN) Copyright: 2008 Prince Albert Daily Herald Contact: http://www.paherald.sk.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1918 Author: Angela Hill Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) ADDICTS DESERVE TREATMENT, TOO Junkies, addicts, druggies. There are so many pejorative terms out there for someone who just needs help. I can't imagine that someone who, for whatever reason, decided just to try a drug or drink, wanted to end up sick, impoverished or on the street. No one wants to end up there, but what if someone has never known anything better? Staff working in the methadone assisted recovery program in Prince Albert state that 99.9 per cent of drug users who have accessed that program have been abused in some form. In Canada, male drug users usually outnumber female drug users two to one. However in Prince Albert 56 per cent of the clients accessing treatment through the methadone program are women. Of those, more than 50 per cent have at some point prostituted themselves to pay for their habit. Case co-ordinators tell stories of women who come into their offices who admit to turning tricks - they are upset, embarrassed, frustrated they can't stop using and never thought they would ever turn to prostitution. The staff in the methadone clinic tell horror stories of starving children who began stealing food at five or six years old, who lived in an atmosphere of squalor and abuse. It's little wonder these people turn to drugs: they were never taught how to deal with life and never told that they are important. It's worth noting that a majority of the opiates used in Prince Albert are legal pharmaceutical drugs. A doctor prescribes morphine or Dilaudid to a patient in pain and that patient turns around and sells it (or some of it). It is a lucrative industry; a lot of money can be made from selling medication: some users will spend hundreds of dollars a week on their habit. It's hard to fathom - how can a doctor prescribe a medication that might be cooked and used to get high? But also, how could they not? Ponder someone recovering from a car accident in need of pain medication. How can a doctor really know how much pain they are in? How can a doctor guess who might sell their medication and who wouldn't? Sometimes doctors are alerted and files flagged, but the calls don't happen often enough or else there wouldn't be the wait list to get into the methadone program. Anyone who hears about someone selling their medications should alert the local police. It's frustrating to hear stories of people who want to come off drugs, but have failed to detox and thus choose to use methadone to avoid returning to drug use. Despite this reasonable choice, people still judge them. If a former addict can use methadone to avoid wanting to get high, thus allowing them to obtain a job and raise a family, why should they still be looked down on? It seems some of these people will never be viewed as worthwhile. I realize methadone isn't the only answer, but for people with no other options it strikes me as a good choice. I realize some people die while in the methadone program - and yes they can die if they are weaned off the substance. But many more will die of a drug overdose or violence related to the drug trade. We wouldn't want treatment withheld from an alcoholic with liver failure or a former smoker with lung cancer so why would help be withheld from someone who wanted to stop using drugs? Yes, in some ways methadone is simply replacing another opiate, and yes, the drug user might never be totally "clean." But, if they can become a functioning member of society, they will buy their own methadone. They deserve a break. - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath