Methadone Mess

Did you know that most people who get addicted to drugs do not intend to do so? The Saginaw News recently told several stories about people who ended up addicted to OxyContin and other opiates, who are now trying to subsist on methadone treatments. The outcome, according to the articles, looks pretty hazy.

Take the story of Amy, the gymnast. When she was only 12, she did an intricate gymnastic move and shattered her knee on her landing. She endured several surgeries and the doctor prescribed Oxycontin to relieve the pain afterwards. She took it here and there when she needed the assistance over the next couple of years, and by the time she was 15 years old she was addicted to it. A friend showed her how to snort the drug as well. Reading her comments helps us to see how the story unfolded.

She says, “I had this super-energy: I could do my homework and study, I was in all those sports, and I had all the energy in the world to do them and do good. But it got to the point where I had to take them to feel normal, or I would crash.” I was increasing how many I was taking; I was coming back frequently (to the doctor) asking for more and more refills, higher milligrams on them. It happened so quickly. It went from doing it recreationally ... to, I had to do them in order to function.”

She began selling pills and stealing to support her habit. Currently she is in the Methodone treatment program and hoping that someday she will be able to be off of drugs entirely.

The number of people receiving state-paid methadone has skyrocketed in the past decade. Back in 2000 there were 8,758 people receiving the treatment; in 2010 there were 19,806. And an estimated 283,000 Americans like Amy receive government-funded methadone, costing taxpayers about $1.1 billion per year, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It is also estimated that 7 million Americans are abusing prescription medication – a number which surpasses all of the abusers of heroin, cocaine, and other illegal drugs.

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