I've always wondered about methadone. It's just as addictive as heroin but doesn't provide the high. What junkie really wants to go for that? It seems like replacing a case-of-beer-a-day habit with O'Doul's. Yeah, please, give me something that tastes awful and makes me pee all night but doesn't give me a buzz. But with heroin "increasingly becoming the drug of choice for white, 20-something suburbanites," the General Assembly was persuaded to lift the moratorium on new methadone clinics. This worries some officials:
"They draw dealers to people that are addicted," said Bob Taylor, coordinator of the Porter County Drug Task Force. "I don't think there's a town or police department around here that wants it in its city."
The state is trying to combat that negative perception and wants any new methadone clinics to be located where the public -- and the patients -- won't be bothered by dope dealers, said John Viernes, deputy director for FSSA's Mental Health and Addiction Division.
Where the public won't be bothered by dope dealers? Well, how about next to meth labs? One more piece of evidence that we need to rethink this whole War on Drugs fiasco.
Comments
I was personally thinking that a good place to have these sites (where people won't be bothered by dope dealers) was ANYWHERE within the arctic circle...
But then that wouldn't be fair to the indiginous wildlife, would it?
B.G.
Regarding methadone, I have been reading a lot of articles about opening a clinic to treat the heroin/opiate addict in the community. I currently am a recovering addict on methadone and have been on it for a number of years now. I do not live in your community, but, in fact, live in another state. I cannot tell you how glad I am to be on this drug. For me, the methadone has given me the freedom from using that I never have had before. When I take the methadone, I have no thoughts or desires to use any other opiate drug. I am free to work and live without any cravings or behavior that in the past has put me in jail and to do things that were illegal just to obtain money or drugs to support my habit. I have been able to excel in my work and, as they say, become a "productive member of society".
The question always comes up, though, about replacing one addictive drug with another. The way I look at it is that I also have high blood pressure. I am on medication for that that I have to take every day. When I do not take my medicine, then my blood pressure goes up and my health eventually deteriorates. So, I have to take the medicine daily. Does that mean that I am addicted to blood pressure medicine? The same can be said for diabetes medicine. If I do not take my medicine for diabetes, then my blood sugar goes up and again my health deteriorates. Am I addicted to diabetes medicine also? So, I look at methadone the same way. If I do not take the medicine, then cravings and thoughts of using return and my health will eventually deteriorate. Eventually, I have the option of trying to come off the methadone if I so desire. I have not made that decision yet, but, may in the future. The same thing can happen for my medicines for blood pressure and diabetes if I exercise more and change my diet, things I am starting to do now.
The reason I am writing this is because I have not seen a lot of comments from people who have been helped with methadone. I hope that this helps people understand that the use of methadone, for me at least, has been a positive thing and I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to use it.
You have one supporter here, Eugene. My story is similar to yours. Nine years of illicit opioid abuse, heroin or prescription, didn't matter. 2 years, 7 months in prison, several months in jail, countless jobs I couldn't hold on to, wrecked relationships, lost trust in my by others, and lost trust in myself, and a general feeling that I'd never be normal again, no matter what I did to try to stop. Methadone changed all that instantaneously (upon getting to the appropriate dose for me). I enrolled in college, and will graduate in 8 more classes with a Bachelor's Degree in Science for Information Technology, I've bought a home, a new car, risen to management at work, mended all the relationships in my life that were worth mending (loved ones and such... not dope dealers), and the list goes on and on. I have been on the program for a few years now, and have remained clean... something I couldn't do for even a month over a nine year period after becoming addicted (due to surgery on my lung and liquid morphine for pain in the mid 90's, followed by Percs, Vicodins, and Darvacets in huge numbers.) When I was cut off by the doctor, no one told me that sickness was going to be an issue, and I didn't grow up in a town that had a heroin problem that I knew anything about in North Carolina, in the home of a preacher; so I wasn't exposed to drugs or alcohol until a much later age than many people are. I had no idea what addiction meant, other than that you wanted the item really bad, and that didn't make sense to me... if it was ruining your life, why not just stop? But I found out very quickly what it was all about during and after that surgery, and I thank God everyday for a well-run methadone program in Raleigh, NC (RMTC is the name of my clinic), where I've followed all the rules, and worked my way to only having to go every 12 days. All random urines have been clean for years; some are observed and some are not (but you never know which will be done that day, or if you'll get a mouth swab instead, so you can't skate through for long without getting caught if you're using.) I have never sold or given away any of my takehome doses, because I respect the program and my treatment and what it's done for me - quite literally, it saved my life. I was facing habitual felon for prescription writing and nothing else; no theft, no violence, no nothing - except signing and paying for a prescription that was not real. And that is a felony in my state. I would have been better off to have bought all of my drugs on the street corner, evidently, as unsafe as that practice is, though, because now I cannot find a job at anywhere except places that pay trivial hourly wages, due to having those old felonies for prescriptions... a crime which obviously doesn't have any link to jobs I have applied for since I got into recovery (I'm not trying to be a pharmacist or anything.) And I never stole from anyone, even in the worst of my addiction, yet every job I applied for all over this town would love me in the interview (at which point I was honest about my past), my drug screen for pre-employment would come back clean, and everything would look in order until the background check would come back from the corporate headquarters and they would tell me that I was not eligible to be hired because I have a felony in my past. Yet every application I've filled out, whether done after I was selected because of my resume or just filled out off the cuff, says that a guilty verdict does not necessarily mean I won't get the job, so long as it's not connected in any way with the job I'm applying for. Bullcrap. When I left my last job as a two year manager for Wal-mart in February due to reasons beyond my control, I am now at the two month point, and have yet to have a single job, other than two offers from internet companies, which are contingent upon a drug screen (no problem), and a background check (if I were a betting man, I'd say that I'll be getting a phone call, even though I've been officially offered the positions, and told, "I'm sorry, Mr. Phelps, but due to your background check, we cannot employ you at this time." My money has held up so far, because I had some savings, but is almost dry within the next few days. Before I had an addiction, I had never committed a crime. Since I found recovery in 2002, I haven't been convicted, arrested, and was let off probation early after almost 9 straight years of it (excluding my time in prison) for exemplary behavior and all clean urine tests in December '04. If the two jobs I have in the running right now cancel my offers, I don't know how I'm going to make it any further. I have an entire page-long list of places I've applied with, and have only received one call prior to these two offers, which was FedExKinkos. Despite my interviewing and disclosing my criminal history, they took me through a three week process of drug screen and background check, only to tell me after three FULL weeks that my urine screen was clean, but they wouldn't hire me due to my history. I asked what their policy on that is, for clarification... They do not hire anyone who has a felony conviction in the past 10 years, period, regardless of what it was for. I think they could have told me that when I wrote on the application the firt day that I had a felony in the past decade that I didn't qualify, rather than wasting countless hours of me driving to the office where the potential job was, dressing up in a suit, interviewing, driving across town for a drug screen, driving to my doctor's office to get a prescription copy for the methadone (which was found in the urine, FYI, though most companies never see it. FedEx does a 9 panel, so they saw it.) However, my prescription turned the results back to clean, and that had no bearing on the outcome. I know this because Fed Ex didn't even know about the methadone in the urine screen. The company they have contracted out to do this background check and urine screen result information gathering for them reported after pulling both sets of information, and I called for a copy of those findings. The urine screen, as I said, was found to be negative. So I wasted countless hours and efforts for weeks, trying to get a job that the company knew I was not eligible for at the time I first applied. I have never had any crimes except the prescription-writing or altering that I mentioned above. Some were lowered to misdemeanor forgery in early cases, and about three were changed to possession of a CII substance because they were actually filled before I got caught. But that's it... no other convictions for anything else except minor speeding/traffic tickets. I have beautiful credit (which I only add because some places check). Yet, I am starting to feel that I am doomed to the life of a gas station attendant, despite having the IQ of near genius, and math and computer skills that would blow your mind. I have network administration experience/skills, and general IT management experience. Plus, I have most of my schooling behind me. I fear that next summer, I will be holding a piece of paper (my Bachelor's degree) that will do me absolutely NO good toward a job. And with everyone, even Food Lion, moving to internet applications, I can't get my foot in the door to see the manager and get him/her to see me, hear about my situation, and give me a chance. They call prison a revolving door, and I'm determined not to go back there, but can you imagine if I still don't have a job in another month? I have mortgage payments, car payments, credit card payments, insurance, food, gas, medicine, utility, and all such other debts coming at me left and right - and while they're all up to date today, I don't know how much longer they'll be able to stay that way. And people would scoff at me if I sold a crack rock so that I could eat next month and got re-arrested, and sing more songs about the "revolving door" that prison is, and how we ex-cons deserve to stay in there because all we do is come out and re-commit more crimes. Hmmm, figure it out, people! How can we NOT
do that when none of you will give a single one of us a real job?? I have proven myself repeatedly to people, and not only that, have NEVER stolen to begin with. Never used a gun in my life, or other weapon, never raped anyone, or shoplifted, or written phony checks. But I can't get a job becuase I passed a piece of paper with a fake name on it to get medicine to keep me from being sick, rather than patronizing the street corner dope-slinger, whose dope may be fine today, and kill you tomorrow because of purity changes, and cut problems. It's really ridiculous, and I'm so down and depressed at the state of things right now... but I haven't even thought about using heroin or painkillers through this rough time, and still am not going to. I refuse to relapse over this situation, or any other. This recovery thing is for life, and I thank God everyday for methadone treatment. I look forward to a day when I might not need it anymore, but if that day never comes, then so be it. I will gladly take methadone once a morning for 30 years, rather than to go back to sticking needles in my arms or even sniffing heroin or OxyContins, and the living hell that doing those things makes your life into. Sorry for the long letter, and I appreciate the chance to comment. Have a great day!
Sincerely,
B. Keith Phelps
Raleigh, NC