le needing medical help. “Whatever conditions may lead to opiate exposure, opiate dependence is a brain-related disorder with the requisite characteristics of a medical illness.” There are a few different methods of treatment, but for the sake of simplicity, this paper will cover methadone and narcotic antagonists. Methadone is a synthetic narcotic analgesic that was developed in Germany during World War II due to the lack of opiate based pain medication. Methadone prevents often-excruciating withdrawal symptoms, yet blocks the pleasurable effects of heroin. For a heroin addict, he is either “straight” (feeling normal), “high”, or “sick”. He wakes up sick, shoots up, and gets high. That lasts for a few hours maybe, and he shoots up again if he can, to avoid getting sick. In this viscous cycle, it is easy to see how holding a job or living normally is out of the question. “Although a drug-free state represents an optimal treatment goal, research has demonstrated that this goal cannot be achieved or sustained by the majority of opiate-dependent people.” According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), “Methadone maintenance treatment is effective in reducing illicit opiate drug use, in reducing crime, in enhancing social productivity, and in reducing the spread of viral diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis.” “All opiate-dependent persons under legal supervision should have access to methadone maintenance therapy...” Methadone maintenance is long-term, if not permanent. However, the methadone is given in a controlled environment; patients must come to the clinic once or twice a day for their dose. This way the patients were not given a narcotic that they could sell on the street. A daily appearance at the clinics and the opportunities for counseling is cited as one of the major reasons for the success of the methadone program.“Of the various t...
