Methadone Research Paper

Drug abuse has been around for many years, since the early 1800’s and has increasingly gotten worse. The dependency of heroin and opiates has succeeded in breaking down barriers in color and classes, you could say it is a habit of equal opportunity with whoever wants to try it. Methadone has been used to treat heroin abuse for many years, but is now used to treat opiate dependency also. Although it has been found to be very addictive, the doctors claim it is the most successful in helping some addicts lead functional lives. It seems strange that a drug that is addictive is given to take the place of another addictive drug. You might ask yourself, why should I care if a better treatment is found to replace methadone if it doesn’t affect

me? After all, the addict is the one that got themselves into the situation in the first place. But, the problem of addiction has touched many families and is not a respecter of age, education or status. In this essay, I say the medical field should try other alternative methods that could help alleviate the pain of withdrawals before using methadone, because trading one addiction for another does not release them from their addictive personalities. When they receive psychological help, they will be able to make healthier choices and live more productive lives.
I have a personal experience with someone very close to me that has suffered with drug addiction, including heroin in the past. I don’t think there is any way possible to prepare yourself to find out your daughter or son has become addicted to such a horrible drug. Especially when you think you have done everything possible to assure them of their worth. My youngest daughter had three children at a young age and had used a variety of drugs during her teenage years. She got mixed up with someone that used heroin and began using. We tried to get her into counseling and drug rehab, but she refused to get help. It became such a problem that she wasn’t using good judgement, which put her children in danger, to the end that we ended up raising her youngest daughter. The reason I am sharing this part of my life is to show that any family can be touched by addictions of this gravity.
In the last sixteen years there has been a rise in opiate addiction due to prescription pain medications given out by physicians. Medications such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl and morphine were being prescribed freely to patients with pain and doctors were not monitoring carefully how often they were refilling the prescriptions. As Alicia Ault, a freelance journalist who focuses on science, health and medicine, wrote in an article, “Drug Abuse” where she states, “The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that between the years of 2002-2013, heroin use doubled among non-Hispanic white women. It rose sharply among people with annual incomes above $50,000, as well as those with private insurance.” This led to an epidemic of drug addiction in people of all walks of life and when it became apparent what was happening, the doctors stopped refilling the prescriptions so carelessly. When the patients were informed that their prescription would be discontinued, many were already hooked and some began buying their medications illegally. Because the opiates are quite expensive, some people started buying heroin, which is much cheaper but gives the same high. Whether, someone has become addicted to opiates, by choice or by trusting their doctor’s judgement, it doesn’t change the fact that they share the same need for treatment.
Due to a need to find a solution for heroin addiction withdrawals, a team of research doctors, decided to test using a pain medication, methadone, as part of the treatment. As Sally Satel writes in an article in the Washington Monthly, “Happy Birthday Methadone”, “The research team, Vincent Dole and his wife, Marie Nyswander, announced they had treated twenty-two heroin addicts with a synthetic pain medication called methadone. They found that their patients were able to maintain jobs, continue in school, helped stabilize their families and showed marked improvement”. In 1964, when this couple made the announcement of their results of using methadone, they were threatened to be arrested by the Bureau of Narcotics for using an addictive drug to treat an addiction. But because of the severity of the problem of heroin users, they turned a blind eye. The controversy of using the addictive medication for treatment has fluctuated and has been revisited since 1964, when it was originally tested. Depending on which party controlled the presidency, the methadone maintenance program seemed to resurface as the preferred choice of treatment due to its cost effectiveness.
It can take approximately a week or at times more for the withdrawals to subside, depending how long they have been addicted to heroin. The withdrawals from Heroin and opiates are similar and very painful causing nausea, muscles spasm, shaking, depression, cold sweats, plus craving for the drug itself. In other word, when the addict takes into consideration the ordeal their body will be put through, it at times makes it difficult for them to make a full commitment to complete the program. Although methadone has been helpful for some patients to become functional and productive, as long as they take their daily dose, once they stop taking the methadone, they suffer the same type of withdrawal symptoms as from the heroin. Therefore, is the point that I made originally, it should not be considered a successful treatment when they continue enslaved to a medication with the only difference being that they acquire it legally and take it in a controlled environment. Of course, this plan of treatment was also to be accompanied by counseling on how to make better choices of environment and friends, but the majority of the clinics don’t hold the patients accountable to attend therapy. What happens is that they don’t receive the proper psychological help to deal with the issues that brought them to be dependent on heroin in the first place. Therefore, they have found that many sign up for methadone treatment and stay in it for a few weeks just enough that it lowers the level their bodies can tolerate and when they stop the methadone treatment, they need a smaller dose of heroin to get high. This proves it is necessary to find an alternative method that helps them become free from drug dependence.
The fact that everyone has different personalities, we can understand that one type of treatment doesn’t work for the general population of addicted people. In a resource paper written by Eric Patterson, Master of Science in Counseling Psychology, National Certified Counselor, Licensed Profession Counselor, (MSCP, NCC, LPC), “Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Addiction”, “Due to the complexity of addiction, no single treatment is right for everyone and even the best treatments cannot guarantee complete remission of addiction or addictive behavior.” He continues that there are some people that don’t want to go to treatment where any type of medication is used to help with their withdrawal symptoms. The alternative method is a method that is drug free making it a “non-mainstream ”treatment where methods such as Yoga, chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, meditation, massage therapy, acupuncture, relaxation therapy are used to relieve the muscle pain that is very common when they go through withdrawals. The breathing techniques and the meditation help with the anxiety and stress. The methods mentioned previously, plus many more similar type of treatments are called CAM which stands for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Till this date we find the CAM lacks the evidence to support its success, but is being used in combination with the traditional techniques. It is drawing attention from researchers because they are seeing a positive effect and believe it will be beneficial for a number of positive results such as the patient being more compliant with the treatment, plus addiction prevention. This would be very beneficial because something that is very common when they leave treatment, is that the majority relapse, but with the proper tools they should be able to handle stress and anxiety more successfully.
States are feeling the pressure to try and solve or alleviate the problem of heroin and opioid abuse which contributes to crime.

This is what the city of Port Huron, Mich. was experiencing when they decided to improve the approach of Drug Court. Nicole Hayden wrote an article, “Drug Court: Holistic approach to opioid epidemic”, in Times Herald where she quotes Chris Deutsh, Natonal Associaton of Drug Court Professionals director, “We know (treatment courts) work, they reduce drug use, crime and recidivism and saves the community money”. With people that have gone through the Macomb County drug court, it has been found that 93% of the graduates from their program do not recommit their past drug related crimes. The defendant lives and works in the community instead of being in prison. During the time they are going through the program they go through an intensive in-patient treatment that can span out form one to two years. They receive federal funding by the U.S. department of Health and Human Services. The programs such as Sacred Heart and Turning Point provide safe housing and they are scheduled to go routinely to the court, plus going to meetings with their case worker. If at any time the defendant needs to pay part of their housing, the drug court will pay it. During this time they are receiving positive feedback from the judge or counsel if the person needed to work on something. Seeing from their 93 percentage of success rate in reducing recidivism, this

may be a program that needs to be closely studied.
Something that is truly out of the ordinary is using acupuncture for the early stages of drug treatment. According to Tom Zolper, in his article, “Acupuncture for addicts”, “The Acupuncture Room” is in a state- funded detoxification center. In rural Delaware, one ofr the many states where the ancient technique is used to help wean addicts from their cravings”. Due to their lack of funding, the state is experiencing difficulty in finding where they can send the addicts for any type of treatment. Because the treatment is so inexpensive, the acupuncture backers have encouraged them to use whatever alternative method available. Although acupuncture is gaining support, it still only has a limited body of research. Two of the main problems for someone trying to get off heroin, is the craving and mood swings, and this is where acupuncture has helped. It is on the radar as being helpful and is being studied by the Yale researchers.
In an article written by Marianne Apostolides and Stanton Peele, Ph.

D., “Kicking the habit : It’s no Longer All-or-Nothing”, “Holistic therapies are helping to bridge the gap between conventional, exclusively abstinence-oriented approaches and the newer, more controversial harm reduction philosophy”. It is believed that people develop addictions to get back into balance therefore the Holistic therapies helps restore your balance. In this particular type of program it is believed that a person cannot be forced to do anything which means they find it acceptable to not abstain from using drugs. When the person is treated with respect, they in turn will eventually take care of themselves. Part of the treatment is a massage which can have a chemical impact on the body and can release tension. With the use of Hatha Yoga, you hold positions for a long time stretching and contrasting your muscles while breathing

deeply.
Dr. George Kolodner, Medical Director of Kolmac Clinic in Maryland, wrote a short commentary, “My decision to use medications beyond withdrawal management to treat patients who suffer from substance –use disorders is based on two sources. First medication improves treatment by reducing relapses which may cause death, plus increases their ability to resist addictive drugs”. He continues by stating that addictions should be considered as chronic illnesses that don’t have a cure, therefore needing to continue taking medication to continue surviving. From what I understand, he believes that there is any hope of developing a method of learning how to resist which keeps you dependent on another medication.
In a commentary speaking against using medication for drug rehabilitation, Ronald E. Smith, M. D, Ph. D states, “The “meeting first” group sees addiction as a craving, a sustained drive to fill a void, whether it is psychological, physical or spiritual”. He continues by explain that life has difficulties which at times are painful and challenging. When you seek treatment in the “meeting first” group, you will learn how to handle disappointments, love and just regular life choices, instead of numbing you senses. When I compare the two options, it appears that real living is actually experiencing life with all the good or bad.
There are many contributors that bring someone to a life of drug dependency such as physiological problems that have gone undetected. Another possibility is something traumatic that the person has gone through and has found themselves out of control of their situation. The problem is that when heroin is used to dull their pain, the user enters a life that spins out of control, destroying the user and everyone else in their close proximity. When this person realizes that they want and need help, there should be a better option other than methadone or any other medication used for treatment. Of course, it is known that the only one that can make any treatment be successful is the person in need of the treatment. Every tool that is taught to help them make better choices, if not used will cause them to backslide. It is a possibility that they may have to continue with counseling for the rest of their life but at least they will actually be making choices instead of just existing.