In 1964, Drs. Vincent Dole and Marie Nyswander began their pioneering research with transitioning heroin and morphine addicts to methadone. Their work indicated to them that methadone was an effective alternative to heroin or morphine because it did not cause wild mood swings or euphoria yet would satisfy the craving for narcotics. They proposed a methadone maintenance program as a treatment. They believed that addiction was a disease at a time when most addicts were perceived as immoral and criminal people. In some cities, addicts accounted for about half of inmates of jails. As a result of their groundbreaking work, their first methadone clinic opened in New York City in 1965 and was later followed by others nationwide.

There was opposition to methadone maintenance from many groups. Some black militants believed methadone was a vehicle to enslave them, and one group threatened to burn down a methadone clinic in New Haven, Connecticut. Other opposition arose from neighborhoods that did not want a methadone clinic in their areas. However, the greatest opposition was that of the federal government. Federal narcotics agents worried about drug diversion of the methadone to those outside the clinic who could abuse it (a valid concern), and had difficulty accepting the concept of maintenance on a narcotic. As a result of these concerns, the 1974 Narcotic Addict Treatment Act, which gave control to the Justice Department over who could dispense methadone as a maintenance drug, was passed; that system continues into the 21st century.

There continue to be major arguments for and against methadone maintenance; for example, addicts in this program avoid unsterile needles from drug sharing and hence they avoid this particular risk for the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. They also receive a drug that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), rather than drugs on the street, which are often adulterated with other substances and whose purity varies widely.

Many addicts on the program can lead normal lives and hold jobs. On the negative side, methadone is a narcotic and individuals in methadone maintenance programs are still addicts. In addition, some methadone patients receive an extra amount of methadone to get them through a long weekend or for other reasons and they sell the drug. Some methadone users continue to abuse other drugs. As a result, methadone maintenance programs continue to be regarded as controversial by some experts.

References:

Levinthal, Charles F. "The History of Drug Use and Drug Legislation." In Drugs, Society, and Criminal Justice. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2006.

Free term papers are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can use our professional writing services to buy a custom written research paper, term paper, or essay on Drugs and Drug Abuse at affordable price. CustomTermPapers is the best solution for those who seek help in writing term papers, essays, and research papers related to Drugs and Drug Abuse and other relevant topics.