Here’s one more lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic: It appears safe to relax restrictions on methadone, the oldest & most stigmatized treatment drug for opioid addiction.
Last spring, with coronavirus shutting down the nation, the government told methadone clinics they could allow stable patients to take their medicine at home unsupervised.
Early research shows it didn’t lead to surges of methadone overdoses or illegal sales. And the phone counseling that went along with take-home doses worked better for some people, helping them stay in recovery and get on with their lives.
U.S. health officials are studying the changes, their impact & how they might be continued.
Since the 1970s, rigid rules have guided methadone treatment, requiring most people to line up and take the liquid medicine, sipping it from small cups, while watched by employees at clinics. Only long-term patients were allowed to take home more than a day’s dose.
Now, scientists are gathering information to put those rules — never rigorously tested — under scrutiny.
“It took a pandemic to change the climate to allow us to actually study it,” said Dr. Ayana Jordan of Yale University School of Medicine, who is among researchers studying the methadone rule changes. “If we roll these policies back post-COVID, it’s going to be devastating.”
More than 400,000 people in the U.S. receive methadone as part of their treatment for addiction to opioids such as heroin, fentanyl & painkillers. Methadone, an opioid itself, can be dangerous in large amounts, but when taken correctly, it can stop drug cravings without causing a high. People can hold jobs & work on rebuilding their lives.
Scott Mancini, 58, a retired truck driver, has been taking methadone for a heroin addiction since 1989. Before the pandemic change, Mancini, as a long-term patient who followed the rules, could take home a six-day supply, requiring a weekly stop at the clinic.
“You’re tied down,” Mancini said of the old system. Now, with a 28-day supply, he can enjoy a long camping trip or family visit.
“It’s worked very well for me & lot of other people,” Mancini said. “I think it’s time we rewrite the rules of the programs throughout the country because the rules haven’t changed in years.”
#opioidcrisis #opioidepidemic #opioideducation #opioidtreatment #covid19 #coronavirus #covidvaccine #drugaddict #drugaddiction #rehab #recovery #pandemic
Source: AP
Follow Me
}
Comments