It's unclear where all the figures in the earlier comment originated, but I can tell you that the Methadone treatment program has been a huge success, and this information is based on our own executive office of the president, office of the National Drug Control Policy. But first, let me tell you about it from a personal level. My dearest friend has been in the program for a year, and it has been a huge success in his life. While at the clinic, I have met many other success stories. A couple with two small children have completed the program in a year, and have kept their jobs, and have become free of addictions. Many others at the clinic have been able to successfully reduce their intake of Methadone by half in a year. This treatment stops the craving for opiates. The patients are able to drive, work and function normally in society. If you didn't know these people were on Methadone, you'd never be able to tell it from their actions. At the clinic, there is a diverse group of patients: some are well-to-do, some are poor, some are married with children, some are single. Almost all have jobs and many of them got jobs only AFTER they started the program. The patients are ALL given counseling, and there are weekly, if not more often, random drugs tests to make sure the patients are adhering to the program. At the beginning of the program, the doctors and nurses warn the patients (during orientation) about the dangers of any drugs, and the patients are able to make a decision about the treatment after receiving all the facts. Families are encouraged to participate in the healing process. Those who overdose on Methadone are usually those who purchase the drug illegally, or steal it from patients (there are cameras all around the clinic, and police officers are nearby on days when many patients are expected to show up -- usually Saturdays, because the patients are allowed to get a take-home dose for Sunday, when the clinic is closed; the cameras and police officers are there mostly to protect the patients from street crime). In the year I've been accompanying my friend to the clinic, I've seen three people who were refused treatment because they were obviously already drugged when they arrived. Also, there have been two who were ousted from the program because they refused to abide by the strict rules, and were taking other medications, which showed up in their weekly drug tests. This activity is not tolerated at the clinics. If you ever once see a hopeless addict change into a working, functioning happy member of society before your eyes, you will change your attitude about Methadone. My friend is now out of the treatment program, and is no longer in need of the medication. Others who started after he did have also completed the program and are clean and sober. Now, for the stats from the office of the National Drug Control Policy (if you're still reading): According to their studies, Methadone is "a rigorously well-tested medication that is safe and efficacious for the treatment of narcotic withdrawal and dependence." This synthetic narcotic has been used for more than 30 years to treat opioid addiction. It is a safe and effective treatment for heroin addition, as well as the more "modern" addictions to pain and other medication - Oxycontin, etc. "Heroin (and some other of the opiates) 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." The usual dosage is once a day, orally, in a strictly controlled enviornment. "Methadone suppresses narcotic withdrawal for between 24 and 36 hours. Because methadone is effective in eliminating withdrawal symptoms, it is used in detoxifying opiate addicts. It is, however, only effective in cases of addiction to heroin, morphine, and other opioid drugs, and it is not an effective treatment for other drugs of abuse." The way Methadone works is to reduce the cravings associated with heroin and other opiates and blocks the high from drugs, but it does not provide the euphoric rush. Because of this, methadone patients do not experience "the extreme highs and lows that result from the waxing and waning of heroin in blood levels." Patients may remain physically dependent on the opioid, but are not controlled by the uncontrolled, compulsive, and disruptive behavior seen in heroin and opiate addicts. Because withdrawal from methadone is much slower than that from heroin and other opiates, it is possible to maintain an addict on methadone without harsh side effects. The program provides the addict with individualized health care and medically prescribed methadone to relieve withdrawal symptoms, reduces the opiate craving, and brings about a biochemical balance in the body. The treatment includes social and rehabilitation services. The operating practices of clinics and hospitals are bound by strict Federal regulations that restrict the use and availability of methadone, protocols established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Additionally, most States have laws that control and closely monitor the distribution of this medication. But, just like any controlled substance, there is a risk of abuse. When used as prescribed and under a physician's care, research and clinical studies indicate that long-term MMT is medically safe (COMPA, 1997). "When methadone is taken under medical supervision, long-term maintenance causes no adverse effects to the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, bones, blood, brain, or other vital body organs. Methadone produces no serious side effects, although some patients experience minor symptoms such as constipation, water retention, drowsiness, skin rash, excessive sweating, and changes in libido." Even these symptoms usually subside after methadone dosage is adjusted and stabilized or tolerance increases. "Methadone is a legal medication produced by licensed and approved pharmaceutical companies using quality control standards. Methadone does not impair cognitive functions. It has no adverse effects on mental capability, intelligence, or employability. It is not sedating or intoxicating, nor does it interfere with ordinary activities such as driving a car or operating machinery. Patients are able to feel pain and experience emotional reactions. Most importantly, methadone relieves the craving associated with opiate addiction. For methadone patients, typical street doses of heroin are ineffective at producing euphoria, making the use of heroin less desirable."
"MMT costs about $13 per day and is considered a cost-effective alternative to incarceration (Office of National Drug Control Policy, 1998a).
MMT has a benefit-cost ratio of 4:1, meaning $4 in economic benefit accrues for every $1 spent on MMT (COMPA, 1997)."
"MMT allows patients to be free of opiate addiction. The National Institute on Drug Abuse found that, among outpatients receiving MMT, weekly opiate use decreased by 69 percent. This decrease in use allows for the individual's health and productivity to improve (Office of National Drug Control Policy, 1998a). Patients were NO LONGER REQUIRED TO LIVE A LIFE OF CRIME TO SUPPORT THEIR HABIT, and criminal activity decreased by 52 percent among these patients. Full-time employment increased by 24 percent." "MMT is one of THE MOST MONITORED AND REGULATED medical treatments in the United States." Hystrionics of the likes of the first commenter has resulted in no clinics being located in our Bible belt, and patients must travel to Knoxville, Asheville, or far Southwestern Virginia to participate in the program. Yet, hundreds, perhaps thousands of people who are desperate to get better are willing to travel the distance daily, to pay the price and to abide by the rules in order to heal themselves of addiction, some of which were brought on by the medical community. Do not believe everything you read. Methadone is not a killer drug. It is actually the cure for those addicted to killer drugs.

This is becoming a very common practice as Methadone is the #1 killer of prescription drugs in this country. You do not have to abuse this drug to die. Methadone is even more deadly when mixed with many other combinations even over the counter products. Victims come from clinics, use from pain management and diversion from both sources. Thousands are dying yearly and nothing is being done to stop this epidemic.
There are many myths publicly stated by pro-methadone advocates and sources behind it's promotion. Many Federal agencies turn a blind eye to these deaths such as the FDA, DEA and SAMSHA/CSAT. 79%+- of the funding to review drugs at the FDA comes from the drug companies themselves, their protection is not that of the American consumer.
Methadone is a very lethal and unstable drug. It is almost impossible to predetermine who will live and who will die if this drug is taken. Medical professionals DO NOT warn patients prior to dosing that thousands are dying so they may make a knowledgable choice to take that risk. MMT (Methadone Maintenance Treatment) or I perfer to call them RAT (Replacement Addiction Therapy) is wide spread and are only replacing one drug for another in an addicts life. These clinics are making millions and DO NOT detox these people as they claim but only keep them on a highly addictive narcotic for years, some even a lifetime. Most cases of this money making therapy is being paid by tax dollars.
This story is an acception as many are not held accountable for these deaths in many states, most of all the doctors who are killing patients who are only doing what they are told in taking this poisonous drug.

Mothers Against Medical Abuse. Org