Although Prohibition ended 70 years ago, a new agenda of temperance is alive and well and growing at an incredible rate. With the advent of the internet the development of new citizen groups loosely modeled after "Mothers Against Drunk Driving" we have found
Methadone maintenance, highly structured with 50 years of proven efficacy, at the center of a new debate. In the media and online a lot of scary claims are being thrown around. The most dangerous of these are not those that are false; we who are reliant on Methadone assisted treatment are quick to debunk those. Rather, the dangerous ones are those that are true or partially true when there is no research that shows the cause and effect and that's being implied. These groups are hell bent on perpetuating the myth that methadone is "trading one addiction for another" or that it's a "number #2 killer" all the while portraying the professional working men and women who have found a new life thanks to the availablity of methadone maintenance programs as people who use your tax dollars to feed their addictions and support their immoral lifestyles. They paint a picture of uneducated, mentally unstable street people driving recklessly between the clinic and the ghetto, robbing little old ladies and running over unsuspecting school children, a trail of dead bodies in their wake. Noone escapes their judgemental criticism. The Doctors and clinicians are no better than the evil street pusher, derelict doctors out for money randomly give away free drugs at ridiculously high doses, supplying the community with such a glut of free methadone that it's almost forced upon the young innocent children in our communities. How else can these people come to terms with the thought that their loved one may have had some responsibility in their own death?
This newest group, HARMD ("Helping America Reduce Methadone Deaths") is fueled by anger and grief. Their apparent spokesperson, Melissa Zuppardi, constantly makes misleading statements about the number of people killed in methadone related deaths in an apparent effort to exaggerate the extent of the problem and enhance fundraising and legislative lobbying efforts. There is simply no legitimate reason to insist falsely that methadone related deaths are a growing epidemic. In many of these cases methadone is scape-goated, pointed to as the "cause" of death regardless of what other drugs or factors exist.
Methadone maintenance treatment gives those of us who have struggled with opiate and heroin addiction a fighting chance to take our lives back. Some stay on maintenance for the rest of their lives. Others slowly titrate down after years, even decades, of treatment. Studies done by Dr. Kreek and others have shown that Methadone heals damage done by heroin use and when taken over the long term can reinstate endorphin function making it an ideal drug for some. Granted, there is no shortage of people just "out for a high" giving Methadone a bad name; and no, we are not all Boy Scouts, but we are good people who deserve to use a medication that has worked for us and many before us. Just because it doesn't work for you, or because someone wasn't careful doesn't mean you have to put all your energy into a senseless War On Drugs, putting MORE restrictions on a drug that people are using to save their lives with. Neo-prohibition is NOT the answer.
Methadone maintenance treatment has had clear benefits in reducing heroin abuse and its medical and psychosocial complications, it is medically safe to use on a long-term basis, and may have broad benefits for the disrupted biology that is associated with heroin abuse. Do not buy the fake science, pumped up statistics and misleading rhetoric of these groups. Stricter laws will only make treatment less accessable, more lives will be lost, and those loved ones we have lost will not be brought back.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.
Methadone Patients Against Hysteria and Further Restrictions
Please sign the petition:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takea...360731625/sign