The Origins and Practice of Methadone Maintenance Treatment: An International Perspective

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Recommended: Research on the history of drugs

Introduction

Throughout history men and women have been consuming psychotrophic substances for various purposes, including for relaxation, to achieve a state of euphoria, or to alter consciousness in order to find spiritual enlightenment. References to the opium poppy, which has been a major source of these psychotrophic substances, have been discovered in writings as far back as that of the Sumerians in 3300BC (Fernandez 1998:3). Opium has been used in various forms over the centuries for medicinal in addition to recreational purposes.

In early 19th century Germany pharmacist FWA Serturner derived a new narcotic liquid from the opium poppy. This new product, morphine, was called after Morpheus, the Greek god of sleep. It was subsequently produced in a number of locations and by the middle of the century it was a widely used drug for the treatment of pain. In 1897 Felix Hoffman, the scientist who developed aspirin, synthesized diacetylmorphine, a more potent form of morphine, at Bayer laboratories. The following year the name ‘heroin’ was registered by Bayer for this diacetylmorphine synthesis. Research papers produced in the years following were very positive about heroin, claiming health benefits such as pain relief and cough suppressant. There were, however, some warnings about the addictive properties it appeared to have (Musto 2002:15).

Opiates were widely available in 19th century America and were not considered problematic. However, at the turn of the 20th century the perception of the drug began to change when heroin use became associated with marginalized and criminal groups and consequently led to some social disquiet. The 1940’s and 1950’s saw a significant increase in the use of heroin and between 1960 and th...

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.... Pisa: EUROPAD

McArthur, M (1999) A History of Methadone Treatment in Australia. Canberra: Australian

Catholic University available at www.aic.gov.au/~/media/conferences/hcpp/mcarthur.pdf accessed on 1st April 2011

Musto, D (2002) One Hundred Years of Heroin. Connecticut: Greenpoint Publishing Group Inc

Strang et al. (2005) ‘Prescription of heroin and other injectable drugs’ in Strang, J., and Gossop, M., (eds), Heroin Addiction And The British Syste.m London: Routledge

Webster, 2007 ‘Drug Treatment’ in Simpson, M., Shildrick, T. and MacDonald, R (eds) Drugs in Britain: Supply, Consumption and Control. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Wechburg, W.M., and Kaster., J.J. (2007) Methadone Maintenance Treatment in the US. New York: Springer Publishing Company

http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/treatan/treana11.htm

Joan F. Epstein and Joseph C. Gfroerer

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