Attitude Toward Methadone and Opiate Addiction Treatment Shifting

In the past, stereotypes about drug addiction and those who suffer from the disorder often threw up an insurmountable obstacle in providing treatment for those who needed it at a community level. Many small towns and neighborhoods would protest and block plans for new methadone clinics or sober living homes on their streets out of fear of an increase in crime, violence, and other unsavory activities that they felt were associated with addiction – even when that addiction were being actively treated.

It appears that, due to widespread education and increased awareness about the issue of heroin addiction and opiate dependence and treatment, those attitudes are changing. In small town Rutland, Vermont, a methadone clinic that was previously proposed was opposed by local law enforcement, the medical community, and locals alike. Ten years later, those opinions appear to have shifted: the new methadone clinic proposed for the town have been met with approval.

Changes in Attitude

Over the past decade, it has become clear that opiate abuse and addiction to prescription drugs like Vicodin, OxyContin, Percocet and other painkillers have become more and more prevalent. The one thing that seems true across the board about those is that there are few unifying characteristics of those who develop this type of dependence. There are no class barriers, race and gender is not an issue, and few Americans have been untouched by the epidemic. The reality of how devastating and debilitating opiate addiction can be has increased the urgency to get help where it is needed –and if that means creating a local methadone clinic or allowing for sober living services within the town limits, then people are opening their minds to the possibilities.

Heroin Addiction Help

Heroin addiction is the main form of opiate addiction treated at methadone clinics, and even small towns like Rutland, Vermont, have been exposed to the health problems and crime related to its spread. Back in 2000, only 49 patients sought treatment for heroin addiction in Rutland. By the following year, that number had almost doubled to 96. By 2008, the number of patients in search of heroin rehab would reach 315.

The best way to lower this number is to provide services that include more than just medical detox through methadone. A comprehensive heroin rehab program that provides detox as well as intensive psychological treatment will help patients to stop abusing their opiate of choice and learn how to live without drugs of any kind, including alcohol.

If you would like to learn more about the woman-centered heroin addiction treatment options we provide here at The Orchid, contact us today