Methadone: A Program In Shambles

Opiate addiction is one of the hardest addictions to overcome. The physical withdrawals can be so intense that many fail or find themselves rushing to the methadone clinic or signing up for the new wonder drug, Subaxone. However, treating this type of addiction with these so-called “withdrawal” drugs doesn’t make sense. Haven’t we learned through the failed methadone programs that this simply does not work?

Methadone has long been the standard medical treatment for those addicted to heroin. In recent years, methadone has increasingly become accepted in the medical community to treat those with chronic pain. However, the consequences of this have been devastating. Because methadone is more widely available in prescription form and not just in a clinic setting, not surprisingly, methadone abuse has skyrocketed. A growing number of people are overdosing on methadone and even more frightening, when combined with other prescription medication, people are dying. The FDA released a public health advisory on November 29th, 2006 warning that “methadone used for pain control could result in death and other life-threatening changes in breathing and heart-rate”.1 This was widely seen by the much publicized deaths of Anna Nicole Smith and her son. Both died of overdoses resulting from a combination of prescription medications, including methadone.

In addition to the alarming death rates associated with methadone overdose, former heroin addicts who had been on a methadone program report that the withdrawal symptoms from methadone are more intense than withdrawing from heroin. One former addict said, “I’ve been on both ends of withdrawals, heroin and methadone, every patient of methadone will always tell you the same as I do: I can kick heroin anytime, but methadone that is something else. In 15 years of heroin addiction, I’ve kicked 3 times, ‘cold-turkey’. In 10 years on methadone, I’ve never kicked methadone.”

Methadone withdrawal is so severe that programs who take a holistic approach to dealing with addiction are unable to accept those people who have high levels of methadone in their system. They must first be weaned off until their bodies have adjusted to low doses of the drug to a point where they can safely stop taking methadone all together.

Using drugs as a method of drug rehabilitation only creates additional problems for the addict as seen through the methadone debacle. Now, Subaxone is being pushed as the alternative to methadone, and yet even its own website claims that Subaxone “has the potential for abuse and [can] produce dependence of the opioid type.”

Shouldn’t the solution be based on living a life without the need for ANY type of drug. Hasn’t it been shown that the consequences to using additional drugs as a treatment method only transfers the addiction from one drug to another?

There are other ways. There are programs that offer a holistic, natural approach to combating opiate addiction. Withdrawal symptoms from opiates can be severe; however, the alternatives, such as Methadone and Subaxone, are only a quick fix and don’t offer a complete solution to the problems an addict faces. Narconon Vista Bay can help. Through a closely supervised withdrawal program and a breakthrough detoxification process, an opiate addict can free themselves of all drugs.

Isn’t this the goal? Drug-rehab means rehabilitating without drugs. When more and more addicts seek help from methadone, the drug that was supposed to treat their addiction, it’s easy to see that the future of Subaxone has the potential to create dangerous consequences for those already suffering from drug addiction.