Quote (KnightXENO @ Feb 8 2010 03:40pm)
Well its an interesting study, but certainly nothing to change policy with.
The fact is that heroin use causes long term (to permanent depending on length of time) changes in brain chemisty. Its way beyond just controlling withdrawl, which methadone does a good job for currently. Why many addidcts relapse isn't because they are withdrawing, but because properly used methadone doesn't give them an intense high.
If they were long time heroin users, the neural chemicals controlling the reward feedback loop (as well as impulse control) are altered. Methadone maintanence keeps them withdrawing and gives low levels of the neurotransmitter they are now deficient in producing, but it never reaches heroin' level. And thats totally ignoring the social and behavior components of addiction.
Will actually giving heroin instead of methadone make for healthier addicts less prone to crime? Sure, its possible, but at the same time they are remaining addicts. They will retain the impulse control problems, they will be almost impossible to give pain releif to (morphine or oral opiods are much weaker than heroin, and quite possibly will remain in the "high state"..... which is not conducive to working/driving/a normal life
What I took away from the article is that these heroin maintenance centre's attempt to turn an addiction into manageable daily routine. With this attempt I think they mean to try and step away from addiction towards something more habitualized. I certainly don't understand or know the medical implications of such an endeavor but looking at it from a subjective point of view, one can derive the intentions and preferred outcome to be laudable.
This post was edited by GTL on Feb 8 2010 07:08pm