Pubdate: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Copyright: 1999 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Forum: http://www.sfgate.com/conferences/ Page: A28 TREATMENT FOR HEROIN ADDICTS SAN FRANCISCO could be a nationwide leader in treating heroin addicts under a Department of Health plan to allow physicians to prescribe methadone for drug dependence. Currently, methadone as a treatment for addiction may only be dispensed by specialized clinics. Critics of the present system, including President Clinton and drug czar Barry McCaffrey, argue that many heroin users who could be helped by methadone treatment do not seek it because of the stigma and indignity of going to a clinic. They also say a new system is needed that utilizes more individually tailored treatment. Like heroin, methadone is a habit-forming drug. But unlike heroin, it curbs drug cravings and debilitating withdrawal symptoms. It also does not produce euphoric highs, which allows addicts to work toward a normal life while they are being treated. Dr. Herminia Palacio, special policy adviser to San Francisco Department of Health Director Mitchell Katz, called methadone ``one of the best-studied and most effective treatments we have for opiate addiction.'' Supervisor Gavin Newsom has scheduled a hearing today on the progress in implementing a board resolution that directed the Department of Health and others to develop a plan to expand methadone treatment. He and his colleagues should encourage city health officials to move swiftly on the department proposal to allow private doctors to prescribe the drug. The department has recommended that it act as an umbrella agency for physicians who would like to prescribe methadone, a change that would require waivers in state and federal regulations. An estimated 13,000 to 15,000 heroin users live in San Francisco, yet only 2,000 are enrolled in methadone treatment. Giving individual physicians the ability to prescribe the drug could go a long way toward ending heroin use for many addicts and in the process help cut crime and unemployment. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart