I didn’t hold out any hope that Susan Sidwell would win her appeal, but the rhetoric used by the District Attorney in this article makes me sick to my stomach.
Houston said their office has investigated numerous cases in which death resulted from the use of methadone.
“This is not something, even under the guise of being used for medicinal purposes, that needs to be readily available to the public,” Houston said.
a)I would like to see a list of these supposed numerous cases, and b)prescription methadone is not some nefarious substance, even the Office of National Drug Control Policy says:
Methadone is a rigorously well-tested medication that is safe and efficacious for the treatment of narcotic withdrawal and dependence. For more than 30 years this synthetic narcotic has been used to treat opioid addiction. Heroin releases an excess of dopamine in the body and causes users to need an opiate continuously occupying the opioid receptor in the brain. Methadone occupies this receptor and is the stabilizing factor that permits addicts on methadone to change their behavior and to discontinue heroin use.
As a professional working with those who suffer from drug and alcohol addiction, I can say we have done a very poor job of educating our leaders and the public at large about methadone and other drug therapy treatments. As more and more research is coming to show, utilizing pharmaceuticals in a positive way to bring balance to the brains of those who suffer from addiction is going to be one of the paths to ultimately significantly reducing the suffering that so many experience today.
Clanton Advertiser | Appeal for methadone clinic fails.
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