WARREN, Maine — The Warren Planning Board will continue its review of a proposed methadone clinic again when it meets in April.
The planning board began its formal line-by-line review Thursday night of the application filed by CRC Health Group for a methadone clinic at 1767 Atlantic Highway, also known as Route 1,
CRC Health Group has been trying to get approval from the town since the fall of 2010.
The board is awaiting more information about the impact of the clinic on the town’s sewage treatment system as well as the impact on traffic.
CRC attorney Walter McKee said the request from the Warren Sanitary District for a Cadillac-style engineering study was unnecessary since it was simple how much flow would go into the system. He said the amount of study being sought is frustrating.
The Maine Department of Transportation will hold a meeting March 22 for its review of the traffic impact of the project.
There were
5500 methadone related deaths in 2007.Methadone is a synthetic opiate that is
used to treat pain and addiction for heroin and other opiates. When methadone
is used for pain, doctors write the patient a prescription for various amounts
(120 pills seem to be most common) When methadone is used for addiction patient
must go to a clinic to receive dose of methadone until they earn take home
privileges. Many patients being treated for addiction will remain on medication
for life. Methadone is addicting and withdrawals are severe. Methadone
represented less than 5% of prescribed opiates but was attributed to 1/3 of all
opiate related deaths. A dose that is therapeutic for one person may be lethal
to another person. Methadone’s’ unique properties make it unforgiving and
sometimes lethal. For more information,
please visit http://www.stopmethadonedeaths.com. Please sign petition and join the
forum.
No one likes methadone. It was never meant to be a way to get addicts off opiates. It was a crime deterrent. Much like the needle give away program isn’t there to get people off IV drug use, but to help stop the spread of AIDS. As far as keeping opiate users from robbing their neighbors to get drug money, the program works, kind of. Methadone is like cold pills, it treats symptom’s rather than the disease.
More than 37,000 people died in auto accidents last year, should we ban cars?
Each year over a million people in the U.S. have heart attacks, should we ban KFC?
From the individual point of view, methadone does not give an addict any reason to change. There is no motivation to do the extremely difficult work of breaking the disease of addiction. In that sense, methadone is a huge failure.
From a more societal point of view, methadone does exactly what it was meant to do, it reduces crime. Meaning addicts aren’t breaking into innocent people’s houses to steal to get money for drugs, or aren’t out on the street corners selling themselves to get money for drugs.
Addiction can not be beat by medicine alone. Addiction is both a physical and mental disease. New behaviors have to be learned and reinforced. Most importantly the addict themselves need to want to change. Methadone keeps this from happening. What we have to remember is, addicts are usually poor, methadone is supported by the state much more than rehabilitation. Never forget, addicts are people with diseases. They may have started down the path by their own choice, but at some point biology takes over and they need drugs on a biological level, not just a conscious one. It is easy to blame the addict, but does the addict deserve any less sympathy than someone who fed themselves with fatty foods and suffered a heart attack?
Methadone isn’t the best answer, but it is the one we have right now. No one likes it, but if you really hate it, blame the Nazi’s, they invented it.
Most of the methadone clinics are a joke! There are many many for profit clinics and that’s what it’s all about profit. Very few care about the people they are suppose to be helping. People are robbing pharmacies to get methadone. Methadone is being abused, diverted and sold. (So the reducing crime theory is out the window). Methadone is very addicting and one dose can kill. It is a very dangerous drug and there are many uneducated doctors prescribing it.The CURE should never be the killer.
Now you argument isn’t about the drug, its about the administration of the clinic’s. Pharmacies don’t just get robbed for just methadone either, addicts steal any drug they can get their hands on. Also the crime theory isn’t out the window, for the 1 in 100 that are diverting and selling their doses, there are 99 who aren’t who otherwise would be out doing illegal things to get their drugs.
Oh, and we never make the cure worse than the disease. We would never use poison or radiation that we KNOW is awful and can cause death to treat diseases… Oh wait, yes we do, its called chemotherapy and radiation treatments. But I’m with you, I’d rather these poor people got their drugs from an unlicensed street chemist than an educated, licensed, chemist at reputable drug manufacturer.Did the sarcasm come through?
Think your stance through. Boom you have your wish, no more methadone. You just cold turkeyed hundreds of thousands of addicts, What are crime rates going to do now? Not to mention the sheer cruelty of leaving these addicts with no other recourse. That is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone or the community in which that person lived.
Methadone isn’t good, but not having methadone is worse. Do you understand that many addicts have burned the pleasure centers on the brain so badly that if they do manage the small miracle of sobriety, they will never feel happy again? Life isn’t broken down into all good and all bad. There are those things that are both bad and good at the same time. Methadone is one of those things. Until there is something better available, methadone is slightly more positive than it is negative.
Why not abstinence, counseling and a higher power? No you cannot just take people off of methadone due to the severe withdrawls, the would have to be detoxed. Most people in clinics are still abusing other drugs…. Methadone is liquid handcuffs, a lifelong drug. I like to see the statistics you are basing your information on. The great thing is we are each entitled to our own opinions.
1. Abstinence – takes the addict to want it, most don’t.
2. Counseling – I’m all for it, two problems though. One, the addicts have to want it, no matter how much we want it for them, they have to want it. Two, the State is willing to pay for methadone, but the budget for counseling wouldn’t cover 10% of those on methadone. The majority of the counseling budget is used for alcohol believe it or not.
3. Higher Power – no such thing, unless you are referring to a persons will power, which again relies on the addict wanting to change.
I’m not saying continue on with methadone, I’d love for something better to come along an eliminate the need for methadone, but until there is, we need methadone. The NIMBY crowd is going to be the NIMBY crowd whether you are talking about a methadone clinic or a large counseling clinic. The slight edge to the methadone clinic is you will get more addicts involved and off the streets committing crime than having an abstinence only counseling clinic. That is the reality.
Here’s a reality, Give them counseling while they’re in jail, cold turkey for 6 months straight.
Repeat offenders get a year of hard “abstinence” time and counseling.
Break ’em one way or the other.
Oh, and how are you connected to methadone clinic?
Full disclosure.
There could be a bright future for you in local politics, a regular ray of sunshine you are:)
One more thing, just curious are you concerned that your methadone may be taken away?
Lol, no. I really don’t even like defending it, it leaves a sour taste, it just the best we have right now for those that don’t have the will or desire to quit.
Then how will they have the will and desire to go to a methadone clinic at 5 or 6am for their daily dose?
You underestimate the power of addiction. Did you know bath salts loosens the bowels? There are people out there literally crapping themselves to get their fix.
Dane, You underestimate the power of the Almighty Dollar. Methadone is now a multi million dollar industry… pure Greed from Doctors and Big Pharma. And they know they are continuing to kill innocent victims all for the love of money. Please take the time and educate yourself about the truth behind Methadone. Join our forum and sign the petition you may Save A Life.
http://www.stopmethadonedeaths.com
Dane, You seem to be contradicting yourself.
Dane, Where did you get your info from on the street corner of a Methadone Clinic?
Who was it who posed the question “Am I my brothers keeper”? The vote on the clinic at Warren town meeting proved conclusively they ain’t keeping no brothers in Warren, if they can help it. That’s OK! Their clergymen have plainly failed. But by the time the dust settles the Americans With Disabilities Act will make good Christians of them.
Warren would be a good place for a pilot program. A compassion clinic, they could pick up metered doses from time to time, when their supply gets so low their hearts are in danger of shriveling up..