Recovery is for everyone and anyone with a genuine desire for change. Treatment in a methadone program offers the potential for change, and a new path which can lead to a much improved life.

In the field of addiction recovery, there are a multitude of methadone treatment programs all across the country. These programs vary considerably one to another, and this is a result of treatment philosophy, staff experience & qualifications, funding availability, and the underlying structure and operation of the methadone clinic itself.

Some methadone treatment programs are for profit and some are non-profit. Both can deliver high standards of client care and ethical treatment of their clients. "Good" treatment programs are generally identified as being so by their own clients. Conversely, if a particular methadone program is "not so good", their clients will recognize it immediately and the word will get out very quickly.

What makes a "good" methadone ...

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If you are currently a client in a methadone clinic, then you have most likely heard treatment staff emphasize the importance of safety with methadone and the necessity of carefully securing take home methadone doses. Methadone is a powerful medication that is tremendously helpful to recovering individuals. It is also potentially lethal in the wrong hands and consequently must be deliberately safeguarded.

There is a recently published article on Bloomberg regarding methadone being diverted and then taken by someone who later died from an overdose. This turn of events has led to newly proposed legislation in five states (Maine, Indiana, Minnesota, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania) that would further tighten regulations regarding the operation of methadone clinics and their award of methadone take home medication to their clients.

The reported misuse of methadone, and associated deaths, was allegedly tied to several private, for-profit clinics that operate in these states. One of ...

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Clients across the country in methadone clinics and suboxone treatment programs are required to receive counseling while taking methadone or suboxone medication. Opioid replacement therapy specifically treats the painful opiate withdrawal, but counseling addresses the thinking, behaviors, and lifestyle that fed the addiction or that made individuals more vulnerable to developing addiction-related problems.

While in early recovery from opioid addiction, individuals begin to look at themselves and their lives through the process of counseling. It is during this time that clients face the truth about themselves and the effects that their addiction may have had on family and friends, finances, personal reputation, employment, and a host of other real world considerations.

It is easy to understand how some people can feel overwhelmed as they take their first sober look at the consequences of their recent addiction-based lives. However, change does occur ... and change is a choice. A very personal and ...

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There is growing interest from a number of entities in regard to America's opioid addiction problem, methadone treatment, suboxone treatment, and the always important funding considerations that accompany these subjects.

This interest is coming from hospitals & the larger medical establishment across the country, your local community, the Federal government's Medicaid services division, your State's Division of Health and Human Services who allocate state dollars for opioid treatment, private insurance companies, employers, and the list goes on and on.

The nationwide costs and consequences of addiction are enormous. The cost of treating addiction is also very large. However, research has proven repeatedly that addiction treatment produces undeniable cost benefits. In other words, treating addiction saves money in the long run by helping addicted individuals arrest their disease and become functional again. For many of the entities listed above, it's all about the dollars. And more specifically, saving ...

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Methadone "take home" medication (also referred to as "take outs") is a true convenience for those enrolled in a methadone clinic. Typically, clients who demonstrate that they are drug free and progressing in their substance abuse treatment can earn the privilege to receive take home medication.

Receiving take home methadone requires that the prescribing physician (and clinic) have safety and accountability measures in place to help reduce the chance of methadone or suboxone getting into the wrong hands. When clients take medication home, it is critical that the opioid replacement medication be kept secure and out of the reach of children. Overdoses can occur with individuals that have no developed tolerance to opioid replacement medication.

Receiving take home methadone is a privilege, not a "right". This decision to award take home medication is usually a collective decision made among the clinical and medical staff in a treatment program. They base ...

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In browsing articles on current methadone treatment, I came across a brief one in the United Kingdom's Daily Record specifically from the Scottish news section. The article contained a number of derogatory quotes (in regard to methadone) from Scotland's Maxie Richards. Ms. Richards runs a foundation for addicted people in recovery.

One quote from Ms. Richards pertaining to methadone included: "To me it represents a hopeless road, a road to nowhere." Another comment was "I think it is such a waste to let young people spend years on methadone because we don't think there's any hope for them." Ms. Richards is openly critical of the government's support of methadone treatment programs.

Her words "a hopeless road" are not a fitting description of the life enhancing benefits of methadone in treating addiction. To the contrary, methadone is often the single most beneficial intervention for someone struggling ...

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