MMT or is it RAT ?
Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) Term used for the addiction treatment clinics.
Replacement Addiction Treatment (RAT) Term describing a more accurate picture of the MMT's.
Prescription Addiction In America
Addiction to prescription drugs has swept our nation at an enormous rate. Victims are exceeding the numbers of previous illicet users. The starting age for use of these legally prescribed drugs is alarming. These are not drugs that are smuggled across our borders but are manufactured and distributed right here under the laws that protect this practice. Some of these same drugs are lethal in therapeutic doses, especially Methadone. The growing form of treating addiction is through clinics that use Methadone as a replacement for the addicts drug of choice. Methadone is a Schedule II narcotic on the same level as Morphine, Demerol, Dilaudid, OxyContin, Percocet and others. It is a highly addictive narcotic that is often described as being much harder to withdraw from then Heroin.
Controversial or Contradictive ?
Methadone may go down in American history as the most contraversial drug known as there are many who argue the drugs safety and effectiveness. As well as the clinics intent to free these patrons from their addiction. This form of treatment raises questions to it's ability to successfully produce the product of their claims. Few actually leave to become "drug free" from the system that has brought nationwide attention.
Clinical Claims and Reasoning Behind Opening a Facility:
1) Methadone clinics aid in reducing area crime rates.
2) Methadone clinics aid in taking the drug addicts off the streets.
3) Methadone clinics help reduce HIV/AIDS
4) Clinical patrons become productive citizens to the community.
After almost two years of researching these practices MAMA has arrived at our own
opinion. This comes from contact with clinic workers, literature provided by these facilities, forums, blogs, news articles, interviewing former methadone treatment user's and spending time with the addicts themselves.
Methadone clinics in reality:
Are far from what they claim when they are offering their sales pitch to communities and often the news media. Even the user's themselves paint a very rosie picture and will often go to extremes to make claim of this wonder drug that is noted for saving lives.
"Saving lives" has two meanings currently being used in regards to Methadone. MAMA's version describes eliminating the untimely deaths of those being associated with this drug. The death tolls are rising at an astronomical rate with no relief insight.
Pro-Methadone advocates call "saving lives" as an addict by replacing a drug to ease their cravings which in a few cases allows them to continue a normal life from what they were previously accustomed to. They will also claim that they are teminal and will die without it, this is absolutely not true. Over time they have used every excuse possible to convince the public and Federal Agencies for the need to mass produce the opening of clinics nationwide. The often call these people "success stories" but these advocates for this drug are still using and have no intention of becoming drug free. They have a legal source to consume a highly addictive narcotic for years, many for a lifetime.
Recently a group that owns a few clinics stated they serve 6,000 patrons in a couple of states. The average cost is 12.00+ per person, per day. 12 X 6,000 = 72,000 dollars per day. In 30 days that totals = 2,160,000.00 dollars per month. In a year they are making
25,920,000.00. This is just one group that is operating clinics and they are not one of the largest in this country. The profits are enormous and these clinics are a gold mine as the addicts love it. This is nothing more then legalized drug dealing and society has come to believe the rhetoric and fancy sales pitches these people have set forth.
Even some families and organizations who protest diverted drugs and addiction support the practice of drug replacement for the addicts. This is still very confusing to me as if you are against a loved one being addicted to a narcotic why are you suddenly OK with them going to a clinic? They are still addicted, still using daily so only there source of receivng a drug has changed. Due to the way Methadone works and it's half life the addicts craving are subdued longer but that is it. If the patron does not get their daily fix within 48 hours the withdrawals will start and they are described to be worse then heroin.
The use of Methadone has now created another drug to misuse and abuse on our streets. Even a small dose of Methadone can kill someone who is not tolerant of it's lethal qualities. Pro-methadone advocates will say that Methadone does not get you high, another false statment. If it did not get you high it would have never gained popularity for street use. That is a very old statement that has been proven to be a lie. The public must take into consideration that the voices of these adovcates are users and most have been on this drug for years. Would you trust the judgement of a percocet user who was consuming a large daily dose even if it was given through a controlled setting, probably not. These people are still addicts, that does not change by taking Methadone and they must get their drug on a regular basis or the rosey picture changes very quickly.
Page is under contruction and will be completed soon.
This is a conclusion of months of research into the activity of these clinics
and their patrons.
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