I'm sure most are familiar with my low opinion of the use of methadone maintenance. I fully agree that methadone is effective and useful in many areas but if the plan is to maintain a person on a narcotic, why would you use methadone? Heroin is a far more benign and user friendly drug and it gives its user what they want. Methadone is far more addictive and takes so long to kick that it kicks the shit out of it's user long before they can quit. If the intent is to maintain a person for the long term, Methadone is a horror story. Anyone who thinks the methadone establishment is on the level, just obtain a copy of their manifesto--lies and more lies. What caused this rant is a recent incident that happened in Vernon, B.C. It seems some person had a supply of methadone on hand and for some reason decided it would be a good idea to turn on his young friends. One died and the other is in the hospital. The stuff comes mixed with orange juice or strawberry syrup? Very child friendly. I think it would be far less likely for such things to happen if the user had to inject the drug. I have no comment on the intelligence of a person that would supply any drug to a young person. Even marijuana should have an age limit on it's use as the research is now showing it's use by youth can be a bad thing. I leave it to the educated medical community to figure that one out. The use of an opiate is a loaded gun. I know very few that use and then quit; it does happen, but I would probably never know if it did. I am only familiar with those that become addicted. There are people that use methadone to withdraw; more power to them. But if a person is an addict and is going to be using a narcotic anyway, methadone is just a prop. Most continue to use and turn to cocaine to obtain a form of high when injecting drugs as methadone raises tolerance to astronomical levels.How is that a good thing?
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longer acting
Methadone has a longer half life. And, as such, would mean that one dose a day, instead of multiple doses, might give a person a less roller coaster-like effect. The fact is diacetyl-moprhine would be a lot cheaper to use and just as effective at tapering the drug for those who wanted to quit. Methadone does have a side effect of causing cardiac arythmias, which kill people without over-dosing! Thus, the safer drug is diaceytl-morphine (heroin!). Same thing applies with clean needle distribution. Most will go to jail if they try it, in all but a few places in our fine country!!
But we all know that there is little concern for the person who develops an addiction. Let them all die! Then there won't be any more problems! All we have to do is forget they are just as much a part of the human race as any one of the "world leaders" you might pick! Too much 'holier than thou' behavior in our country!
Methadone
My biggest complaint is that there's no way to help someone that OD's on methadone. Naloxone is only effective on opiates, which methadone is not. I've been present when a few people have done too much "juice" and the paramedics just shake their heads and take them away. This is a safer drug? I don't think so.
Naloxone does work on Methadone
Actually, methadone is an opioid. Therefore, Naloxone (Narcan) does work to reverse the agonist effects of Methadone. The only problem is that with the long half-life of Methadone being approx 12-20 hours, and the half-life of Naloxone being only 1 to 2 hours, the person who has overdosed is at very high risk of re-overdosing if the Methadone has not yet been metabolised when the effect of the Naloxone wears off. (Information from the CPS, published by the Canadian Pharmacists Association)
It's protocol for both BCAS and hospitals to give Naloxone to any suspected overdose for a reason, it works. (Personal experience)
I don't know about giving heroin to addicts???
I not so sure that give hard core addicts heroin is what you want to do, I am 1000% against the drug war! But give heroin to addicts I think that might be going I little too far!
I have been in the shooting gallery before, one too many times, mainly because of horrible pain that would not stop, I have a crazy bladder disease called IC, and it is one of the worst disease out there you can get causing pain!!!
It drove me to the breaking point, and I started to shoot up OC's D's, I know I should not have, but my pain was so bad I was going crazy!!
I got close to doing H, but could never find it where I live. I am now on methadone, and I still have pain but I have found natural things to make not so bad,(its still bad) but not the was it use to be!!!
In saying all that, I wish I would have never got messed up on my pain meds, its really screwed me up, I am fine now, and you
lay any of that shit around me now, and I would not want to do any of it!!
But I went through a period of time where I had a hard time.
I just could not deal with every thing I had been dealt! But getting off the hook of my meds only made everything a 1000 times worse, and messed up with a lot of doctors too. I am lucky to I have one who still treats me! I know I am lucky as hell, Yea lucky with a in-cureable disease!!!!
But that is life I guess, But I don't know if giving addicts heroin sends the right message, hey get fucked up, and we will pay for your heroin, or you can just buy it for cheap from the gov. either way I don't know, that's a little too hard core, I am for helping them but not like that!
I mean if they were in chronic pain, then yes they need to be on something they can manage, I don't know too many H users who can manage there dope????
Methadone might have no side effects yes, but it can be managed, its is not that easy to abuse, that is when you have been on a steady dose for a month or longer, the longer a persons been on it, the less abuse the person can do on it!!
Now the side effects are a different story!!! Yes the side effects probably are worse with methadone, but think about how that compares to the effects of shooting H over time, Yea i take the methadone! I have been on the needle and its never enough, ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No matter how much you do, its never enough!!
It does not start out that way, but it ends that way!!! I know I have been there, Hell I got on pain meds because of chronic pain, and I end up there, so I know!
But people are intitled to their opinion, I just don't see how giving H addicts is Helping them??? Thats all
I am not for throwing them in jail though!!!
Chronic pain, drugs, addiction etc
I am glad you got help with your chronic pain form "natural" means. Your letter does show the truth that many who turn to opiates illegally(legal unprescibed and illegal) are in pain. I actually do know people who have used heroin without the constant increases and binging. They are older and realize that they will never get the high they got at first but still value what they do get. I am on methadone and am not looking forward to what it will be like when I stop but I hope I will be in a position to wean myself down over a year or two. I think England has had some success with heroin maintanence for mature junkies. Really, we should go back to the 19th century type law where you can take what you want or need and it is your responsibility to function or not.
That was more side effects on methadone, sorry, I put no
I mean to put more side effects on methadone(yes there is more side effects)
Pain meds
My brother was given methadone for pain when hospitalized for gall stones.I'm sure it works fine for someone that's in for short term usage but methadone sucks as a painkiller.I've been on everything there is and if you have a chronic problem,you don't want methadone.Tolerance goes up too quickly and when compared to any opiate it does a poor job of controlling pain.Oxycontin is another synthetic that builds tolerance too fast and if you were referring to demerol,thats an edible oil byproduct.The Germans came up with both methadone and demerol.I know the demerol was to replace opium,which the allies withheld because they could.I'm glad you feel better but if you think methadone is not a narcotic you must be reading the clinic literature.If a person is to be maintained for life on a narcotic drug.Why would you doom them to methadone?No-one knows what long term methadone use does in doses over 100mgms.There's plenty of evidence that d-morphine is benign.Of course recent research is pretty hard to find as trials are few and far between.I do know that the only negative they found with the English experiment was that no-one wanted to quit.They held jobs,quit crime,maintained family life and kept healthy but they just wouldn't quit and quitting was the criteria that the program was judged by and the reason it was discontinued.I know several people that went over for the trials and they would have stayed forever but they switched everybody to methadone and a lot of addicts just don't like methadone.They use it to stay out of prison but they still use heroin and often turn to cocaine to give them a blast,as the methadone raises the tolerance to where shooting enough heroin is too expensive unless one is dealing to support the habit.I'm not making this up.This was my life for 38 years.
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