Methadone Maintenance

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Shelbey Safford
HSMV 1160
Module 6 assignment 4
April 17, 2011

4.  Methadone maintenance is a controversial treatment model for heroin and other narcotic addiction.  Write a one page paper either for or against methadone maintenance.  Be able to justify your position based upon textbook material, lecture notes, and outside research.

When it comes to heroin, I am for complete abstinence. Methadone is a medication admitted to a person to minimize the discomfort of heroin withdrawal symptoms (Hart, Ksir, Ray 2011). People go through a lot to quit heroin and my hat goes off to anybody who successfully quits.

I would have to say that I am for methadone maintenance if it is used correctly. People need to be informed of the affects it can have on you if you drink, smoke, use other drugs, or whatever else it is that you are doing. I also think that it cannot be a substitute for heroin. If one becomes addicted to methadone, it may be less bad than heroin, but still an awful drug to be doing. There should be strict laws on it and pharmacies should have to keep records of the methadone users and they should only be allowed to get it from one place.

Like I said in the discussion paragraph, I know of a guy who used methadone and that is what caused his death. It may have been his fault for drinking while on it, but his friends and family claim that nobody knew that could be a lethal mix. Though he didn’t die from mixing the two, a doctor said that if he wouldn’t have been on methadone he would have woken up and not choked on his own vomit.

In conclusion, methadone could be a good treatment while quitting heroin if used for the right reasons. They should have strict laws on the usage of this drug and keep great track of who is using it and where they are getting it from if at all possible.
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