Portland is a large pacific northwest city in the state of Oregon with a metro population of about 2.2 million people. To its credit, Portland offers a considerable number of opioid treatment programs that specialize in the use of methadone and suboxone replacement therapy. Consequently, those struggling with opioid addiction have numerous medication-assisted treatment alternatives in the greater Portland area.
Portland became part of the grunge music scene that rose to prominence in the 1990's. During that time, heroin experienced somewhat of a resurgence with a resulting increase in opiate use and opiate addiction.
In addition to the numerous Portland methadone clinics that opened, many suboxone certified physicians came along when suboxone received its approval from the FDA in 2002. There are 45 suboxone physicians currently in practice at last count.
Within a 10 mile radius of Portland are several more methadone clinics located in the nearby towns of Beaverton, Milwaukie, and Vancouver. Portland appears to have responded quite well to a major opioid problem in their region. One can only imagine how Portland would have been negatively impacted had opioid treatment not found a place in the local community.