Misleading on Methadone

Contrary to my blogging nom de plume, I am most active in meetings and as a sponsor to opioid addicts. They are patients at a methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clinic where I hold a weekly recovery class. In fact, tomorrow I will testify in a certificate of need hearing for a proposed MMT center for a nearby county. Other than being prepared to answer the questions presented to me truthfully, I really don’t see the need for any preparation but a post on the subject matter certainly seemed timely.

It was in search of a photo to accompany this entry that I ran across this story from USA Today. Yeah it’s a little dated, but it seemed like a good way to concentrate on a singular issue instead of taking on the comprehensive subject. I’m also too lazy tonight to find something more current and this article really serves as a great example of why MMT is often misunderstood. Read the article, notice in particular that every fact and figure on overdoses given in the text is related to prescription methadone prescribed by doctors for pain management. Yet the big pretty picture of methadone offered along with the story is accompanied by this caption:

A plastic cup holds a dose of methadone at the Southern Indiana Treatment Center in Jeffersonville, Ind. Methadone deaths as a percentage of all drug overdose deaths has increased from 4% in 1999 to 13% in 2004, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Not exactly a relevant picture is it? I am not sure if the author was biased or just ignorant of the subject matter, it’s misleading regardless.

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There is another thing that is important about this picture and that is the methadone is in liquid form. Most clinics use this liquid form to make it more difficult for patients to abuse or resell. Those new to treatment or not adhering to the program are required to swallow the dose at the counter with a nurse in attendance. Obviously this makes diversion more difficult than compared to a pain management patient that is given a 50 count bottle in pill or wafer form with three refills. Government studies conclude that it is the increase in pain management methadone and not MMT that is the primary problem.

There are still those that abuse the system both on the clinic side and patients, but I am willing to accept this deviance in order to offer the chance of a better life for those that are willing to work for it.